The goal is straightforward: build a comprehensive map of resources available to people with disabilities and their families — a network they can turn to, trust, and rely on. Network Sociale is a new initiative serving Ravenna, Cervia, and Russi. It aims to protect and promote the well-being of people in our community, helping them develop their talents and participate fully in everyday life. All people with disabilities and their families are direct beneficiaries of this effort.
Network Sociale is funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region and coordinated by Per gli altri – Centro di Servizio per il Volontariato di Ravenna (For Others – Ravenna Volunteer Service Center). It brings together the City of Ravenna, Associazione Marinando Ravenna, Associazione Italiana Persone Down (Italian Down Syndrome Association), Per una Solidarietà Fattiva, Agebo Assistenza Genitori e Bambini Ospedalizzati (Hospitalized Children and Family Support), Centro Sportivo Italiano – Ravenna Committee, and Forum del Terzo Settore. Associazione di Volontariato Letizia leads the project.
The first phase invites all local organizations to share their work. Through questionnaires and letters, they will describe the services, projects, and activities they offer to people with disabilities and their families. This information will become a smartphone app — a tool that lets users find what they need: a specific service, a place to go, an activity happening this week or this month, and who runs it. The app will promote the organizations' work and help families organize their time, their schedules, their daily lives. Most importantly, it will free them from isolation. They will feel connected, part of a community navigating disability together — not alone in the strain and difficulty that often comes with it. The network will thrive beyond moments of crisis. Real community grows through relationships, exchange, and meeting one another, not just in emergencies. As the project develops, a website at www.networksociale.ra.it will expand to house all elements of the initiative and welcome new partner organizations.
«We believe it is vital to recognize the power of organizations working together,» say Valentina Morigi, Ravenna's assessment of social services, and Gianandrea Baroncini, assessment of volunteers. «This co-design effort is remarkable. It takes on the isolation that people and families face. Network Sociale is a digital platform with enormous potential to grow and improve. New organizations can join, raising the quality of information and — more importantly — the opportunities available to people. The benefit to the common good and sense of community exceeds what any single group could achieve alone. The City will continue to support the associations, volunteers, and all who practice solidarity as service».
«Network Sociale launches us into a new phase,» explains Lisa Dradi, project lead at Associazione di Volontariato Letizia. «We want to link experiences and people together, building a system among associations and services across our territories through innovative methods. Our aim is to spread opportunity for people with disabilities and their families». «The Region chose to fund this project,» says Mirco Bagnari, regional councilor for Emilia-Romagna, «using funds secured in December 2017 through an agreement with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The goal is to encourage organizations to co-design solutions that improve people's quality of life and advance social inclusion. Network Sociale does exactly that — it harnesses technology and connects the real potential of public services and volunteer organizations».
Source: Ravenna Today