Context and Local community:
Caritas is in the centre of Ferrara, in a quiet area close to the university, easy to reach by car or by public transportation. Ferrara is in the north-east of Italy and it counts almost 140.000 inhabitants. Its economy is based on agriculture, chemical industry and tourism. Ferrara is a town of Art and Study. Its university, founded in 1391, is one of the most ancient university of Italy. Lots of young people coming from different countries attend this university and give a fresh and dynamic atmosphere to the town. Ferrara has a rich artistic heritage: the historic downtown and the ancient walls, that go around the town for 9 km, have been considered Humanity Heritage by Unesco. Moreover, during the whole year, the "Diamond Palace" hosts precious art exhibitions. For these reasons Ferrara has lots of tourists, above all during the summer. In May it is possible to see the most ancient "palio" in the world, that goes back to 1279. It is a special moment for Ferrara, it changes appareance to commemorate its glory of the Renaissance. Ferrara also hosts the Buskers Festival: in August for a whole week, artists coming from all around the world present their shows in the streets (music, songs, dances, theatre ... ). Ferrara offers lots of thatrical and music possibilities; in fact there are the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and many concerts of other famous European orchestra. From geographical point of view, Ferrara is in the countryside in the Pianura Padana, not far from the Adriatic Sea. Ferrara is well connected with important and nice Italian towns, like Venice, Bologna and Florence. The weather is quite cold and wet during the winter and very sultry in the summertime. Near Ferrara it is also possible to visit several natural parks related to the Po river, the longest river in Italy.

Rules and conditions:
The volunteers will work in Caritas in Ferrara and they'll lodge in a separated flat in the downtown, easy to reach on foot or by bike. Lodging outside Caritas permits to the volunteers to take some time for themselves and to acquire more authonomy facilitating their settlement in the local community. The volunteers can eat in Caritas or they can take food from the canteen. Both in Caritas and in the flat they must respect some basic rules:
smoking is strictly forbidden;
using or introducing alcohol or drugs is strictly forbidden;
it is important to arrive at work in good conditions (clean, neat, sober, active);
any kind of violence (verbal and physical) is not admitted;
the flat has to be clean and in good conditions;
possible visits must be discussed with the staff (it is not possible to host friends or relatives without asking the permission to the staff);
it is important not to disturb the neighbours.

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:
Volunteering in Caritas means, first of all, becoming aware of what having nothing, being hungry, lonely and excluded mean. In our society, apparently developed and modern, forms of uneasiness and poverty still exist. EVS volunteers will approach this reality and they'll learn how to face it taking actively part in our activities. They'll become part of our team of volunteers knowing and sharing our values, first of all solidarity and hosting. The most frequent difficulty is that assisted people have not always a good and nice aspect and behaviour. Their pain, shame and anger are often transposed in aggressive or closing behaviours. Day by day the volunteers will understand what is behind this unpleasant facade and they will develop a further sensibility towards the needs of our assisted people also knowing when and how to become closer (sometimes it is good to be hearty and in confidence; sometimes it is better to define a limit and not to get too much involved). Anyway, it is always important to deeply respect every human being without compassion or discrimination. What we offer to our volunteers is an intense experience made of openness, dialogue, awarness and willingness to become actively involved in a path of solidarity. In Caritas the EVS volunteers can understand the importance of teamwork and cooperation. They can learn how an old but still decorous cloth can become a charity action or a meal can become a gift. This experience will help them to develop a special sensibility for goods and assets, being happy of what we have but also seeing their real purpose. The volunteers can also develop observation and listening ability, mediation and communication skills. Of course the volunteers will learn the Italian language, our local traditions and maybe also the traditions of our guests creating the foundation for a dialogue among different cultures that can enrich our context and all of us. We think that an EVS project in Caritas can be a precious element for the personal and social growth of young volunteers.

The volunteers are a precious resource for Caritas. Without their generous presence and their energy we probably can't offer all our present services. EVS volunteers have a precious role because they aren't qualified operators, so they can be able to approach our assisted people in a not-formal, sometimes more incisive way. The volunteer is a person with whom the assisted people can find a moment of dialogue, recreation, the wish to open themselves, to rely and let us help them or just exchange some words and a smile. The volunteer is a fresh person who is able to get in contact with our hosts without compassion or superiority. The volunteers will do their service with reliability, motivation and enthousiasm. Of course we will give them the necessary time to adapt to a new context, to know our working-methods and our activities. They'll work in team with other volunteers and operators.

The volunteers will be involved in daily activities of Caritas. It is important to underline that they aren't substitution of qualified operators but our simple activities are a good way to approach our guests, host them, get in touch with them so to permit them to trust us and be helped. It is essential to establish a good relationship between volunteers and guests, so not to lose benevolence and solidarity that are the core of our action. EVS volunteers will be a reference point, an example for the people who attend the Centre, so they should have a mature and respectful behaviour cooperating with us, without discriminations or squabbles.
Caritas of Ferrara was born with the canteen service, which offers hot meals every day at lunch and dinner. We must admit that, for the direct impact and for the urgent need of this service, the canteen is the most important activity for us. Even if the number of assisted people is too high for our structure, Caritas can't deny to anybody the right to eat. The team of our volunteers choses the food respecting the different traditions and religions and creates a welcoming atmosphere in the Centre. We think it is important to involve EVS volunteers in this service because it is the best moment to approach our guests and it represents the core activity of our Centre. Without being involved in this task, we think that EVS volunteers won't be able to really understand and share our philosophy.
The shower service and the distribution of products for the personal hygene have got the same meaning and value. We ask our volunteers to take part to these services too, understanding the hosting and formative characteristics in them. Also this service can be an easy method to approach the guests and say a friendly word without being intrusive or feeling superior. Today a smile, tomorrow a talk, we hope that, step by step, it is possible to create a good relationship in which the assisted people are at ease and can show us their real needs, so to give us elements to plan a proper and specific help. Meantime, this service is expected to be a mean of information and education to hygene and care of our own looking that is often neglected in situation of uneasiness. Similarly, EVS volunteers will be also involved in the collection and distribution of second-hand clothes. The activity can be divided into three parts: collection of second-hand but still decorous clothes from Caritas bin or from private donors; selection of clothes; distribution to needy people. Together with other volunteers, European volunteers can also be involved in the collection of food, especially products coming from "Banco Alimentare" (Onlus association that collects and distributes the surplus from factories and private people to avoid the food waste), supermarkets and some generous private people. The positive attitude and the energy of our volunteers should become a good example to involve and sensitize the local people and other Bodies for a further participation into the social-assistence domain.
When the volunteers will have a better knowledge of our context and language, they can participate in the consulting service, like the Listening Centre where we try to offer comprehension, information and specific support to the people who attend Caritas. Sometimes, if the volunteers are interested in, can visit also the other strucutures coordinated by Caritas of Ferrara, for example Emmaus Centre (support to alcohol addicted people), Casona (hosting immigrants), Betlem (support lonely elderly people) or Centro Donne e Giustizia (facing problems related to prostitution). This way, EVS volunteers can enter into the specificity of each problem. It is important to note that the programme in the Listening Centre and in the other structures coordinated by Caritas requires a good experience and knowledge of the Italian language. Anyway, the EVS volunteers, if they are interested in, can sometimes take part in them supporting the operators and, in a second moment, having a more active part in the activities.


Volunteer profiles and recruitment process:
Please describe the profiles of volunteers you would like to receive in your organisation. Include information on how you ensure an open and transparent recruitment process as well as the overall accessibility of EVS to all young people. Consider further information about the type of Sending Organisation you want to cooperate with. This information can help the match-making between volunteer candidates, Sending Organisations and your organisation.
Caritas is interested in cooperating with all sending organisations and we are ready to host motivated volunteers without doing any kind of discrimination. We are also ready to host volunteers with fewer opportunties. With the help of our coordinating organisation IBO Italia, we commit in taking into consideration and answering each application we receive ensuring a transparent and open recruitment process.
It is important that the volunteers have good motivations, curiosity and wish to learn: these are important aspects for a successful project and a quicker comprehension of the project. All our activities are based on teamwork; the volunteers must be ready to cooperate with our operators and other volunteers trying to express their doubts and to be always available for the dialogue. Respect for our rules is essential since in Caritas there are lots of people every day. Our project requires a good predisposition to the observation and analysis of the different situations. We ask our volunteers to speak and compare with our operators before making a choice. Anyway, we appreciate a positive attitude, new ideas and suggestions.


Special needs (if applicable):
If your placements are open to hosting volunteers with fewer opportunities, please provide information about the competence, experience and infrastructure and (human or other) resources available in your organisation to accommodate and support them.
In the past Caritas already hosted and is still interested in hosting volunteers with fewer opportunities. The idea comes from a consolidated experience in hosting and supporting people in situations of uneasiness. We think that involving volunteers with fewer opportunties in our activities, even if it requires a major effort, can bring an important adding value to our project from the human point of view. We would like to involve also disadvantaged volunteers in our solidarity action giving them a chance to improve their autonomy, trust in themselves and their skills through new interpersonal relations and a concrete commitment in the social domain. Caritas tries to create the right conditions for a dialogue among volunteers, operators and guests, which is able to destroy barriers and prejudices. We organised, and we are ready to do it again, regular meetings with a psychologist. The EVS volunteers can speak and compare with others, learn to express their feelings, listen to others and face their fears and personal or working problems. These meetings can also be a chance to favour an intercultural exchange and the knowledge of diversities.
For volunteers with fewer opportunties we plan more frequent meetings with the tutor and the staff, so to monitor the project, their expectations, motivations and possible difficulties.
Unfortunately for logistic problems, we are not able to host volunteers with physical disabilities.


Risk prevention, protection and safety:
The project hasn't got specific risks. Our activities are simple and done in team. We can do a successful project if the volunteers have good relational capacities and a proper approach to our guests. They can have crisis and problems only if they don't understand what a suitable attitude should be. The volunteers must be respectful towards our guests, they must try to overcome the external appearance and to understand their pain. The past of our guests let them become suspicious and not confident with other people; so it can happen that they are aggressive if they feel judged or offended. The volunteers will learn how to behave with them and in this process our staff will be always present and ready to help them. The volunteers will be supported by a tutor who will help them during the whole project.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=42000489639