In My Place: Eliodoro project for young people and families
The social cooperative Eliodoro ETS, which has been active in the Upper Lake Garda area for more than 25 years, has presented In My Place. The project offers young people facing difficulties in forming relationships and their families places for listening, meeting and support.
The social cooperative Eliodoro ETS, which has been active in the Upper Lake Garda area for more than 25 years, has presented In My Place. The project offers young people facing difficulties in forming relationships and their families places for listening, meeting and support. The presentation will take place on Wednesday 26 August at 5.30 p.m. in the Dialogo hall of the Verbite Fathers, at 47 Via Venezia in Riva del Garda. The meeting is open to the public and is also intended for volunteers interested in becoming facilitators of mutual-aid groups.
The project includes My Place, an educational and social space for young people aged 16 to 30 who experience social isolation, emotional vulnerability or difficulty building and maintaining meaningful relationships. Activities take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2.30 to 5.30 p.m. at the intermunicipal youth centre Cantiere 26 in Arco.
This is not a healthcare service, day centre or after-school facility, but a low-threshold setting where participants can explore relationships, activities and new experiences according to their own interests and pace. The space is also intended for people who have completed a programme in a residential community or social-educational centre, those experiencing social withdrawal, and young people not in employment, education or training who have difficulty participating, even if they are not currently supported by services. Access is direct: after an initial introductory interview, attendance is voluntary.
The second service is a free and confidential psychological listening service for caregivers and family members of people with disabilities or severe vulnerabilities. The interview, conducted by a qualified psychologist, provides welcome, listening and guidance and is not a course of psychotherapy.
The project is completed by monthly mutual-aid groups active in the municipalities of the Alto Garda Family District: Riva del Garda, Arco, Dro, Tenno and Ledro. Two separate programmes are planned: one for parents of minors with vulnerabilities or disabilities and one for family members of adults in the same circumstances. The meetings will be led by trained facilitators and supervised by a psychologist.
The initiative is also described on the website of the Municipality of Nago-Torbole.