ASSOCIAZIONE CENTRO ASTALLI

description of organisation

Centro Astalli (http://centroastalli.it/) is the Italian branch of JRS. Since 1981 it is engaged in numerous activities and services that aim to accompany, serve and defend the rights of those who arrive in Italy on the run from war and violence, not infrequently from torture. Centro Astalli also undertakes to make known to the public what are the refugees, their history and the reasons that brought them here. Centro Astalli started its activities iin via degli Astalli in Rome, answering to the appeal of Father Pedro Arrupe sj, then Father General of the Society of Jesus: in the fall of 1980, deeply affected by the tragedy of thousands of Vietnamese boat people into escape from their war-torn country, he urged Jesuits around the world to "bring at least a little of relief to this tragic situation ". Accompanying refugees and sharing their experiences is at the heart of all services of the Centro Astalli, from those of first reception (for those who recently arrived in Italy), until awareness-raising activities and efforts to defend refugee rights.
Centro Astalli is part of the national system, as partner of the Municipality of Rome. It is a member of the territorial immigration council established at the Prefecture of Rome, participates in the National Asylum Table and in the Table for Migrant Children, places of coordination of the main bodies involved in the protection of asylum seekers and refugees. It collaborates with the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Integral Human Development Service of the Vatican. Other relevant partners arethe ASL Roma A (now Rome 1) for a permanent health service dedicated to asylum seekers and refugees; CPIA IV (Provincial Center for Adult Education), Liceo Montale and Istituto Massimo for work-school alternation projects and the LUMSA University as part of the Erasmus + project.
The soup kitchen has always been the heart of the association, a crossroads of different languages ​​and nationalities. Every day around 300 meals are served to asylum seekers and refugees from many countries including: Mali, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Senegal, Pakistan, Eritrea etc. Centro Astalli manages 4 reception centers for refugees in Rome where single women, single men and families with children are hosted. Thanks to the voluntary service of the many doctors who work at the clinic and the center Sa.Mi.Fo. (Health Forced Migrants) Centro Astalli guarantees medical assistance to refugees with special attention to survivors of torture and thraumatised migrants. The orientation and legal advice services accompany the refugees in the long and difficult bureaucratic procedure for recognition of international protection.
Moreover, thanks to the work of the many Italian school volunteers, we try to support the refugees in the process of social inclusion and integration in the Italian society through the teaching of the language.
Matteo Ricci center for hospitality and integration is a structure that Centro Astalli dedicates to the support for the paths of social inclusion and the creation of positive and constructive relationships between refugees and local community. The activities of the center will offer to forced migrants, with particular attention to the most young people and the most vulnerable, the opportunity to acquire new skills that can be spent in the world of work, but also to establish positive social relations, which facilitate their integration into Italian society. Matteo Ricci Center has 28 places for the reception of forced migrants who are engaged in paths of social inclusion, but they do not yet have the possibility of autonomously providing for their own
accommodation. Matteo Ricci Center organizes training activities, such as computer courses, language courses, financial education courses. The courses are open to forced migrants, but also to other migrants and local population.
Accompanying refugees also means promoting within civil society a culture of acceptance and solidarity. This is why the Astalli Center carries out awareness raising and education activities addressed to young people from 11 to 18. For over 10 years, in fact, Finestre e Incontri projects, respectively on the right to asylum and on interfaith dialogue, are implemented in Italian schools. The strength of the proposals is the direct meeting in class with a refugee or a witness of one of the different faiths present in Italy.
Thanks to the constant commitment of over 250volunteers, in total, Centro Astalli in a year responds to the needs of about 15,000 forced migrants.