The association
Street lawyers is a volunteer organization that offers
Free legal assistance for the homeless, the homeless, and those experiencing serious social hardship. The numbers are staggering:
A thousand volunteers work in 62 offices throughout Italy and have already successfully completed over 3 cases. More than half of these cases they concern immigrants, legal but poor, and without the means to face any legal dispute. An unpaid fine, a divorce to handle, a pension to claim, paid work under the table: for each of these cases, the association Street lawyers intervenes free of charge, through its network of branches, and also covers legal expenses. There is also no shortage of cases under investigation for the violence suffered by an immigrant, as in the case of SH, attacked and beaten in Milan by two youths who wanted to rob him. The association managed to have the two attackers sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison, and also obtained a prison sentence for the client. compensation of 25 thousand euros.
The idea of this volunteering format found its genesis in Emilia Romagna, where immigration has become central to the entire productive apparatus. And where cases of discrimination at work immigrants, without whom entire sectors would have serious production problems. Street Lawyers was born in Bologna in the early 2000s and have been since then over 40 people were assisted for free, with an average of 3.800 applications per year, more than 60 percent of which concern legal but impoverished migrants. Like Karim, a Moroccan who arrived in Italy with a job in a metalworking factory, but was hit by the economic crisis and the pandemic. Having exhausted his unemployment benefits and mobility, Karim faced eviction, and the association managed to defend his home helping him find a new job, which is essential to paying the rent.
The activities of the Avvocati di Strada association, described as "the largest free law firm in Italy," are not limited to legal assistance . Thanks to the widespread nature of their volunteer work, they also collect valuable data on local issues related to immigration : housing shortages, widespread illegal work, and delays in accessing the pension system, which immigrants also finance with their labor. "Our work also serves to demonstrate that we are not as cynical and indifferent as we are sometimes portrayed," explains Antonio Mumolo , president of Avvocati di Strada. " First and foremost, we are human beings, and then lawyers." The association addresses issues such as registered residence, documents, employment, health, residence permits, evictions, and access to public services.
Massimiliano Arena , after many years of volunteering in Africa and South America, realized he could do a lot in Italy too, and so he opened the Street Lawyer chapter in Foggia . The office is near the train station, and when it opens, a line of immigrants immediately forms, looking for someone who can help them claim their sacred right. Thus arrive the laborer forced to spend 14 hours a day in the fields, working illegally. The evicted man no longer knows where to turn. The homeless man looking for a place to live, other than on the streets.
Recalling his long experience with the association, Antonio Mumolo, President of Street lawyers, It evokes one of these volunteers' most significant successes. Giulia and Alessandra were two young drug addicts whose children had been taken from them. The association managed to track down the two girls' families and obtain custody of the children for them. Meanwhile, both Giulia and Alessandra have recovered from drug addiction.
Cover image source: Street Lawyer ODV
Read also:
Want to see a selection of our news?
