Objectives and organisation

The 'racCONTAMI2023' initiative is a census of homeless people in Milan and will take place on the night of June 12th 2023. The project is promoted by the Municipality of Milan through a service agreement to the Fondazione Ing. Rodolfo Debenedetti.

The project will be carried out also with the collaboration of LEAP-Bocconi (Laboratory for Effective Anti-Poverty Policies) and numerous organizations of the city's network that provide services for homeless people and aid the fight against poverty and marginality.

The initiative involves a large-scale mobilization, aimed at collecting the number of homeless people at a given time of the year to provide a reliable snapshot of the homelessness phenomenon in the city. This initiative will allow to better understand the characteristics and needs of homeless people, and the dynamics that lead to marginality and extreme poverty.

The 2023 census will be the fourth one, following those of 2018, 2013 and 2008. Differently from previous editions, this year’s initiative includes both a summer and a winter census (in June and December).

The project is funded by the Programma Operativo Complementare Inclusione (POC) 2014 – 2020.

The summer census will take place on the following days:

• Monday June 12th 2023. At nighttime, teams of minimum 3 volunteers will move within assigned areas of the city counting and interviewing homeless people. The city areas will mainly be covered on foot, but in some cases your own means of transport (bicycle, car) may be needed. The activity will take place approximately between 7:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.
• From Tuesday June 13th to Friday June 16th 2023. Groups of volunteers will carry out interviews with homeless people hosted in night shelters. The interviews will mainly take place in the evening hours.

How to participate

The initiative will involve the entire municipality of Milan and requires a large-scale mobilization of volunteers and associations active in the city: we will need more than 1000 volunteers, especially on the night of Monday 12th June!

We will greatly appreciate the contribution of all those who feel confident to interact with people living in great distress, those who have experience with civil protection, and simple citizens interested in contributing to this initiative.

It is not mandatory to give your availability for all evenings. Your availability for Monday 12 June is particularly welcome.

To participate, please fill in the following registration form. The registration deadline is 4 June 2023.

Volunteer training

Volunteers are required to attend a two-hour training session in the weeks prior to the survey. During the training, details of the initiative will be presented. Volunteers will have the opportunity to receive all information about their involvement and clarify any doubts.

Training sessions will take place in various locations across the city. The training calendar will be published shortly (at this link/on this website). The majority of training sessions will be organized during the evening, to facilitate workers and those willing to participate.

For more information write to raccontami2023@gmail.com.

Headcount form and questionnaires

In order to prepare for the survey, it is important to be familiar with the survey instruments that will be used on the evening of 12 June and in the following days.

Below racCONTAMI volunteers can find trial versions of the ‘headcount form’ and questionnaires. Paper versions of the questionnaires will be added shortly.

Survey instruments 12 June:

• HEADCOUNT FORM: link to trial version
• ROUGH SLEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE - Online version: link to trial version
• ROUGH SLEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE - Paper version: [to be added - soon available].

Survey instruments 13-16 June:

• NIGHT SHELTER QUESTIONNAIRE - Online version: [to be added - soon available].
• NIGHT SHELTER QUESTIONNAIRE - Paper version: [to be added - soon available].

FAQ

Please visit the dedicated page in Italian.