It was a genuine pleasure to discover a family home that owes its existence, in part, to an article published in Ombre e Luci years ago — but above all to a group of remarkable friends and the determination of Luigi Vittorio Berliri. The decision had been made long before. Obstacles arose and persist. Yet through sheer tenacity and patience, this small circle of friends managed, a few months ago, to open Casablu.
The surprise was wonderful: Casablu is not an isolated house on the outskirts. It stands in a lovely neighborhood of Rome's Nuovo Salario district, within an elegant apartment building.
The residence consists of two apartments connected by an internal staircase—two separate "family" units with the freedom to visit each other. One apartment opens onto a private garden. Luigi Vittorio Berliri, the association's president, lives with his own family in an adjacent apartment. The home is furnished simply but with taste and real care, with no pretense of luxury. What strikes you is the evident desire to do things right and with love. And it is not just the physical space that welcomes you. Five residents with disabilities greeted us warmly, each displaying unmistakable pride in their new home. Maria Grazia, finally content to have found a place suited to her. Antonio, who chose to leave the day center behind and embrace the rhythm of daily community life. Roberta, radiating a joy of living that seems inexhaustible.
After meeting the staff and residents, we sat down with Luigi Vittorio Berliri to explore the questions we carried with us.
How did Casablu come into being?
Casablu is a project of Spes contra spem, a social cooperative founded in 1992 at the urging of Monsignor Salvatore Boccaccio, then the bishop of the zone. We wanted to understand what needs existed in this neighborhood and imagined how we, as Christians, might respond. We decided to create a cooperative of laypeople committed to political engagement in the district, in service to the city. We took on four priorities: isolated elderly people, the global poor, youth hardship, and people with disabilities. On that last front, we launched an inter-parish newsletter and organized two meetings that led to the creation of a zoning board. In Rome, this was the first such board with advisory powers on all matters affecting people with disabilities. I had volunteered in family homes for many years. I did it gladly, but I felt that the people working in them were not always valued, and that we could do better. Among us friends, members of Spes contra spem, the question arose: "Could we actually create a family home?" That is when I remembered searching for that article from Ombre e Luci (How to Design a Community and Residential Community for People with Intellectual Disabilities).
We set to work. A long search followed for the right available property. Living in a large apartment building has brought friction with some neighbors—though others have been remarkably supportive and helpful. Municipal law requires certain amenities: a garden, accessible bathrooms for people with disabilities, and so on. Then came the renovation to make the space livable for residents with mobility and access needs. Finally, we welcomed our first five residents, and we expect more by Christmas. The city pays us 210,000 lire per day per person. The work operates under oversight by the local health authority. Casablu itself chooses the staff. We began recruiting long before we found the building. I conducted dozens of interviews with applicants for the position. We hire only qualified people, and above all those with years of experience in family homes or home care. We look for a particular sensitivity, an ability to connect, to relate on a human level. We ask for something beyond good technical skills. The stipends, though they may seem substantial, barely stretch to the end of the month. This is why staff members sometimes help scrub the bathrooms.
How do you spend your days here?
We do exactly what happens in any family. Some people stay home. Others take walks or do hippotherapy. Some attend parish groups and day programs. We try to ensure that everyone can make choices and determine their own direction. There is genuine collaboration among the residents. We are also committed to being a secular structure: we do not discriminate based on faith, and we do not impose our own on anyone who enters Casablu.
We work closely with the local physician, psychiatrist, neurologist, and specialists as needed. We have one educator per floor, one social worker for the whole house, one caregiver for every two residents, a cook, and seven conscientious objectors working in rotation. We have many volunteers. They cannot replace professionals, but they bring enormous richness through their presence and friendship. The social worker and educators handle contact with families, outside services, parishes, the health authority, and the municipality. In practice, the social worker, the educator, and I work as a team depending on what needs to be done.
What process did these residents go through to be accepted here?
The municipality selects Casablu's residents. An application for placement must be submitted by certified mail to: City of Rome - Fifth Department - Solidarity Services Unit - Disability Services - Via Merulana, 123 - 00185 Rome. At the same time, an application must be submitted to the social worker at the local health authority. The city places the application on a waiting list and requests a detailed report from the health authority on the applicant's circumstances and the type of facility best suited to their needs. A ranking is drawn up, based on which the city grants its approval.
How do you fund this? Where do you find support?
From the standpoint of dignity and personal pride, I believe a structure like this should be entirely funded by the state, not by private charity. But if so many people had not helped us, we would never have made it. The assistance we have received has been enormous. However, we decided not to use donation money to pay salaries. Casablu was designed for twelve people. Today we have five, and the situation is not easy. Many of us have voluntarily reduced our own salaries.
What factors made it possible for Casablu to be born and to grow?
- a political vision: a municipality committed to building thirty family homes, one in each district;
- a small group of people—volunteers and cooperative members—working with stubborn determination to realize this vision;
- a very large network of five hundred friends and acquaintances who believed in the project and in us, and who made it possible through their support, including financial;
- a genuine pressing need among people in the neighborhood;
- and not least—indeed, first of all—the Holy Spirit, who brought all these factors together and made the birth of Casablu possible.
All five of these points matter. None of them alone goes anywhere.
I always tell everyone: "Come and see for yourself."
- Huberta Pott and Natalia Livi, 2000