Messina is not a city for children. There is a lack of nursery schools and meeting places, pediatricians are not present in all areas of the city. The growing poverty affects the youngest in particular: from housing problems to school dropouts, to the absence of psychologists in schools. Many ideas emerge from the report by the guarantor for minors Giovanni Amante, who presented his first report to the Social Services Commissionat Palazzo Zanca, since he was elected, a few months ago. And really interesting ideas are emerging. Recently, the Openpolice investigation highlighted that Messina – the guarantor underlined – would present shortcomings in the required standards, equal to nursery schools with 15 places available for every 100 children. The Administration has promised to mitigate the current gap that places Messina at a percentage of 10.3%. Then there is the prison chapter, particularly delicate. The guarantor has been engaged on this front and He has been to Gazzi several times, where until a few months ago there were two children under three years old together with their mothers who were detained. At the moment, however, there are no registered presences.
“In my opinion – writes the guarantor – the prison is well equipped and organized to manage these particular cases; good health care and sufficient visits that the pediatrician performed during the months of detention. The visits highlighted a fundamental need for the young guests, which translates into the opportunity to attend a nursery, so that it is possible for them to have better psychomotor and social activity”. There is another aspect to take into account: the total number of minors children of prisoners exceeds 100. It is necessary to provide support and assistance also to these particularly fragile minors.
The situation of private pediatricians is improving thanks to the new National Collective Agreement for the categorywhich has increased the maximum number of single pediatricians to one thousand. But it is necessary to distribute the offices in all areas of the city. That is, in a more homogeneous manner. For Child Neuropsychiatry, however, long waits for visits are reported. And there is the scourge of school dropouts which often hides very serious problems. In the background, crimes and very precarious family situations. There is a lack of school psychologists due to the lack of adequate resources. There are insufficient meeting spaces for the little ones.
The guarantor highlighted the state of degradation of the pitch and the small playground on Via Santa Martawhich also has access from Viale Italia: we are waiting for interventions to return this space to the kids. “In San Filippo Superiore – Amante explained – there is a small soccer field that represents the only meeting and playing point in the village, which, for at least 6 years, has been unusable because access to the public has been closed”. According to the guarantor, it is necessary to promote agreements and conventions with the schools.
