Among the many news stories with negative implications, it is rare to find one with a happy ending. But a fortunate encounter occurred in Milan, where 62-year-old Aurelio Ferro, due to a series of circumstances, not excluding the devastating Covid period, had lost his job, finding himself in the desperate condition of letting himself go, slipping into the guise of a tramp. And it is here, right in Milan, that one of those encounters that changes your life takes place. Meet the young Antonino Presti, from Mistrettain Lombardy for work reasons. Who says: «I don’t know if it was fate or a halo of mutual sympathy that made me find myself talking to the man, in whom I would have inspired trust. That’s how I learned his story, that is, how from a smart worker he had slipped into the abyss of homelessness».
Ferro, a high school graduate, had many jobs but during the pandemic, after separating from his partner and failing to renew his lease, having lost his job, he fell into the condition of a homeless person. He lived on the streets and slept in a flowerbed in Piazza Duca d’Aosta and on a bus. Exposed to threats, he comforted himself with music until his backpack with his headphones inside was stolen. The meeting with Presti marked a turning point. “You’re different from the others,” the man from Mistretta told him, who offered him the opportunity to attend a fire safety operator course at the expense of the company for which he worked as a volunteer firefighter. Ferro welcomed the opportunity as a blessing from heaven. Having passed the exam, he now works at Milan Central Station and also benefits from a room-lodging provided by the same company.
