Catanzaro confirms itself as a city with many needs in the social field. A characteristic that shines through from the words of the former councilor for social policies Giusy Pino who drew up an assessment of the work carried out during his mandate which ended at the beginning of September following the cancellation of the council decided by the mayor Nicola Fiorita.
Thirteen months at the helm of social policies. An adequate time?
«It was like a breath. Too short to see the many projects implemented and to respond to all requests. They have been 13 months of great work shared with the tireless officials and with the manager Antonino Ferraiolo. Many actions have been taken for the family and minors area, including the new regulation for foster care, the public notice for the district register of foster families, the fight against school dropouts; in partnership with the third sector, activities against educational poverty. We won a ministerial tender for Roma minors (0-6 years) and the Municipality has around one and a half million euros available. Another ministerial tender of more or less the same scope for the adolescent age group is underway. With Pnrr funds, a new municipal nursery has been designed on Viale Crotone and the aim is to open a nursery in Siano too. The Sector came first in the project on autism aimed at 12 minors, while for the 3-6 year age group the possibility of a contribution of 100 euros per pupil for the canteen service was made concrete. In the social-welfare and non-self-sufficiency policy area, since the Municipality is responsible for the accreditation of as many as 40 structures, payment has already been made as well as, from November 2023 to the end of the year, structural compliance checks. Then, again, work and integration projects for immigrants, projects for active aging. The sector has also moved to set up task forces with the Ordinary Court, Asp and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Juvenile Court; with the inmates’ guarantor and sector associations for the restorative justice centre. Planned a dormitory, showers and laundry for the homeless.”
We often talk about the deficit of the administrative machinery of Palazzo De Nobili, what sector have you found?
«There was a sector that was stuck in planning, so much so that the regional councilor for Welfare at the time, Emma Staine, had threatened to place it under commissionership on 20 October 2023. But with everyone’s commitment, with the chemistry we immediately created with the officials, we avoided it. I found highly trained and motivated staff with whom it was pleasant to work and from whom it is now difficult to think about separating. I thank them all for their affection towards me and for their great work effort. Thanks to the manager Ferraiolo who, with his preparation and experience, made me feel safe from the point of view of legal-administrative management”.
