ROME — In an effort to provide immediate shelter and aid to
people living on the street in Rome while also trying to curb the spread of
coronavirus, the diocesan Caritas and the Italian Red Cross have started
operating a testing and temporary holding center for new arrivals before they
go on to regular shelters.
The new offering "represents an innovative service that
works as a central hub, a missing link" for new referrals arriving off the
streets, so that they have a safe place to be tested for COVID-19 and isolated
if need be — services that cannot be guaranteed at Rome's established shelters
and facilities, said a Jan. 7 joint press release.
This way, public health can be safeguarded while also safely
taking in and helping people in extreme poverty before they access the many
services offered by parishes and volunteers that normally intensify and expand
their outreach in the winter months, it said.
The new "pre-welcoming" service, which started Jan. 7,
can house 60 people at a time. They can receive testing for COVID-19 and have
safe, adequate shelter necessary for a 10-day isolation or quarantine before
heading to longer-term shelters, hostels and parish-run centers.
The new service is offered at the Caritas shelter located in
Rome's central Termini train station. The Don Luigi Di Liegro shelter had to
temporarily close in early October after nearly half of its 72 residents tested
positive for COVID-19. A second round of testing later that same month revealed
an even greater number of infections.
About 180 people were living in the shelter in November, the
January press release said, and they were moved to two separate facilities in
December so the shelter can now be used as an admissions and screening hub to
prevent spreading infections and triggering outbreaks in the different housing
facilities throughout Rome.
Father Benoni Ambarus, head of Caritas Rome, said in the press release
that the new initiative is "modest" compared to the huge needs. But,
he said, they wanted "to show how it is possible to channel the energies
of the world of the church and volunteers."
"As our bishop, Pope Francis, reminded us, things will turn
out better to the extent to which, with God's help, we work together for the
common good, focusing on those who are the weakest and most
disadvantaged," he said.