Sometimes I find myself at the Cooperative, surrounded by the young people and volunteers talking together, and my mind drifts back to 1988—the year it all began.
A group of parents with disabled children gathered because they faced a common problem: after compulsory schooling ended, their sons and daughters had nowhere to go. No one would take them in. No doors opened.
"My son finished middle school. The high school I contacted wouldn't accept him."
"My son has been on the waiting list for two years to get into the Socio-Educational Center. They told me there are no spaces."
So what now?
Why not us? We all live in Carugate. Why not create something ourselves—a place where our young people could spend their days, stay occupied, do meaningful work?
And that is how the committee began. We had three tasks:
- find a space in town suitable for our work;
- approach local businesses and ask for simple assembly and packaging jobs;
- decide which young people would join us and how many we could take.
After several negotiations, the municipality offered us two classrooms in an elementary school.
We knew from the start the space was tight. But it felt like we had already solved the biggest hurdle.
Then came the wait. The rooms needed renovation to be wheelchair-accessible. While construction dragged on, a local company we had approached surprised us with their generosity—they had work for us, ready to go. We panicked. How could we refuse? Saying no felt like slamming a door on our entire future.
We refused to back down. Then, unexpectedly, help arrived: "I have a small cellar where my children play. But until the school is ready, my family can give it up for you."
And so we began.
Every evening, volunteers gathered in the Gervasoni family's cellar. The work came in. But we were too few, and only in the evenings. We needed more hands. Word spread among friends who could help.
After about eight months in that cellar, the school classrooms were finally ready. We moved in.
Now we are a large family. Ten young people: Massimo, Moris, Euro, Clemente, Tiziano, Gabriele, Giovanni, Sergio, Sara, and Marcella. Staff, a conscientious objector, and about sixty volunteers who give their hours to what has become the great family of the Cooperativa La Solidarietà. It was not as straightforward as this account makes it sound. But we did it.
- Milena, 1993