Catholic charity Caritas on Thursday
expressed "doubts" over proposed tents for the homeless at
Rome's Termini station and in three other areas of the capital.
Caritas director, Giustino Trincia, said the "doubt regards the
possible concentration of frail people, some very frail, in the
context of a problematic area which, as we know, has long been
under a lot of pressure" with a critical situation that has
deteriorated since the Covid pandemic.
The proposal to set up tents for the homeless presented on
Thursday could only be an "emergency and temporary measure
because it does not represent one of those structural measures
that would instead be indispensable" to tackle homelessness in
the capital, said the Caritas chief.
He called for an "organic intervention" to aid homeless people
who mainly gather around Termini as well as in the other areas
involved in the project - the Ostiense and Tiburtina stations
and the area around St Peter's Square.
Caritas instead called for an "increase of permanent and
dignified housing solutions".
Last month, Trincia warned that homelessness is Rome's most
serious problem, stressing that an estimated 22,000 people are
homeless.
He added that "between 120,000 and 150,000 apartments are empty
in Rome" calling for policies to tackle the emergency.
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