In 2010, after the restructuring of the settings in the Salesian work at La Spezia, the activity began with the support of Dr. Stefania Branchini, Director of the Sociosanitary District, and belonging to the Carispezia Foundation that finances the first two years, of the Liguria Region and of the Municipality of La Spezia that supports the first three years and then evaluates the fourth. “At the moment”, Luca Vergassola, Coordinator of the day centre, explains “we are in the fourth year, because the municipal administration has positively evaluated our activity. There was never such a day centre in the city.”
Il Traghetto takes in twenty young people while five other places are for the young people of the Navigare soli (navigating alone) project: “This is an individual project aimed at the ones leaving the day centre, and we accompany them as they gain autonomy”, explains Luca Vergassola.
Like all social bodies, Il Traghetto had to reinvent itself during the pandemic and post-pandemic period: “In 2021, on a voluntary basis, we also opened in the morning to allow those who did not have ways of following the lessons: we broke down the distance between those who had a room, a computer, a connection available, and those who did not. The kids would come here in the morning, have breakfast, and then they could take classes remotely. ” In addition to Luca Vergassola, psychologist and psychotherapist, four professional educators work at Il Traghetto: Daniela Fioravanti, Giorgia Lenzi, Simone Lobina and Marco Ramonini.
In addition to the 20 full-time young people and the five places of the Navigare soli project, Il Traghetto also takes care of young people who have passed through there, but who sometimes need to return: "Il porto sicuro, or The safe harbour" is the name of this project that allows us to occasionally accept those who have left Il Traghetto but who need to return, for a word, a little help: “We take care of those who have left here to accompany our young people also as they become self-supporting”, Vergassola says.
The 15th anniversary of Il Traghetto was celebrated close to the feast of Don Bosco, Sunday, 28 January 2024. Fr Giorgio Mocci, director of the oratory and president of the Il Galeone Association, is happy with the anniversary: “The extraordinary daily educational work that takes place in the Day Centre is the result of shared effort by the La Spezia Educative and Pastoral Community and the educational passion of the educators at the Day Centre, to whom go the best wishes and thanks of all of us.”
The event was also attended by Fr Francesco Preite, President of Salesians for Social APS. Supporting the thanks expressed by Fr Mocci to the educators, he said, “The Day Centre is a way of combating educational poverty and fundamental educational prevention in a country like Italy which, unfortunately, has about 1.4 million minors in absolute poverty. Promoting groups such as Il Traghetto is a guarantee of the future and growth of a community and the entire country.”
