Just outside

The door closes behind, in front of the void. Nobody waiting for you, who is happy to see you again.
A handful of coins in his pocket, a few old clothes in the bag. And the future, indeed today, from that moment on is all uphill.
It happens to many inmates, more than what the news tells, on the day of the end of the sentence. They are no longer detained, they are not yet citizens. The first days are the most difficult, moments that can make the difference between returning to a crime or reintegrating into society. Primary needs such as where to sleep and eat are compelling and sometimes insurmountable.

And Covid has made the situation even more complicated. The entire network of volunteers that day after day supported the prisoners also in this passage towards freedom have no access. The door of the prisons only opens more for insiders and new inmates. The thread that held the "inside with the outside" together has loosened. Now all that remains is the letters to keep in touch, certainly important but not sufficient. An already complicated “first support” job becomes even more difficult. The pandemic is leaving a heavy mark here too. Inmates are paying a high price not only in terms of contagion, but also more solitary confinement and a more complex return to society.
Yeah, but who's up to take the first step to change this situation?
The Guarantors of persons deprived of their liberty are trying.
In different areas of Italy. An example?
In recent months, the Guarantor of the Marches, Giancarlo Giulianelli (photo), took charge of this situation, at the end of October 2021, there were almost 150 inmates in the whole region at the end of their sentence or with the requirements for alternative sentences, with an average age between 30 and 35 years. Once out of prison for some of them there was no roof they could rely on.

"Being able to guarantee it - the regional Guarantor reiterates - means making alternative measures possible, limiting the possibility of recidivism, wisely guiding reintegration into society". For this he involved the Erap (Regional Body for Public Housing) and on the labor front he created opportunities with some business and category associations.
«The point - he underlines - is to restore dignity and certainties for a positive return to society. In this direction, treatment activities also take on a significant value, especially those of a training nature, which make it possible to provide a first profile for future employment.
But for these we still have to wait for the post-pandemic "

Chiara Genisio
NP February 2022