To offer hope to mothers like Angela and to spark new ideas and commitment among health service specialists, we reached out to Il Melograno.
Here's how it works.
The house, owned by the local health authority (ASL RM B), is modest but spacious enough for a dozen residents—unpretentious, well-maintained, and furnished with both warmth and practicality.
Roberto lives here, along with another girl with severe disabilities and seven younger residents who are more independent. They work at various jobs outside and share household responsibilities together.
The staff consists of fifteen home care assistants working in rotation (three during the day, two at night) and an occasional community educator. A contracted service handles cleaning.
The home care assistants come from two cooperatives (Cospexa and Iskra) that work for the health authority. To make this project possible, they formed a temporary partnership, whose president serves as the link between the health authority's team, the staff, and the residents.
The health authority's team includes a social worker, a health aide, an educator, and Dr. Sarti.
The director overseeing this initiative—as well as all other programs in the Eighth District—is Dr. Silvestro Dedalo, head of the Third District health authority.
The city of Rome provides the health authority with the financial resources to run the residence, according to their agreement. Daily fees are 210,000 lire for the two residents with greater needs and 160,000 lire for the others.
The association's president is responsible for managing the community's day-to-day life—its activities and educational approach—working closely with the health authority team and staff through monthly or bimonthly meetings. These meetings are where individual care plans for each resident and community activities are prepared and discussed.
Il Melograno - V. degli Albatri, 26 - 00169 Roma
- Nicole Schulthes, 1998