How do you feel when you cross the glance of a homeless? Do you loathe the homeless? How can we change the narrative around homeless? Walk with me involve 45 citizens in a participative workshop resulting in 3 performative walks in 3 pilot districts of Vicenza. We’ll reshape the community social outlook and we’ll promote social cohesion. We’ll learn that homelessness is sometimes a choice, but it’s always part of our society and we have to face it.

3 districts of Vicenza, Veneto Region, Northern Italy

Veneto is one of the richest region in Italy, however the social gap is getting wider and the recent pandemic made more tangible the homeless question. Moreover, 2017 collapse of the bank of Vicenza has led to an increasing poverty and consequently to a dramatic class warfare. People started to canalise their anger to the weaker people: the homeless are seen more and more as parasites, as a problem to solve drastically. Recreating the social fabric and promote social cohesion at community level is now urgent. While sovranism wanted us to be a monochrome society and individualism is making us more and more selfish, we need to actively co-shaping a colorful, vibrant community life that builds bridges, strengthens civic cohesion and creates hope for a better and inclusive future.

TARGET: Walk with me is purposely target to citizens living in 3 pilot districts involved in the project, perceiving the presence of homeless as a safety problems, and acting within discriminatory actions

BENEFICIARY: many categories will benefit from project outputs: homeless groups being in the districts, thanks to the increased awareness of local inhabitants; CSOs working with and for homeless from the web platform to be used for campaign, events etc; Vicenza Municipality from increase number of sensitive and engaged citizens in local social policy and services, increased volunteer opportunities

AUDIENCE: citizens, CSOs, volunteers, municipalities, public institution providing services for homeless at national, regional and provincial level

Social animation: in the 3 pilot districts to raise awareness on project topics, engage citizens
Call for participants: in the 3 pilot districts to select citizens to be involved in the participative performative process
Participative Theatre workshop: mapping intervention areas while reflecting on homeless urban and social discrimination; creation of audiovisual contents; design of performative walks
Platform: maps and visual contents will be uploaded in an interactive web platform
Performative walk: throughout the areas of intervention
Multiplier events: in neighborhood cities and Veneto provinces and submitted by workshop participants
Walk with Me Beehive: creation of a “beehive” in each pilot district for promoting raising awareness web platform.

-45 citizens trained on participative theatre, community maps and urban and social homeless marginalization
-1000 informed citizens about project activities and topics
-6 public events aimed to engage citizens and presenting results
-10 multiplier events organized by involved participants to promote raising awareness web platform and participative process implemented
-1 replication program develop for replication and communication actions of the raising awareness web platform and participative process implemented
-Increased volunteer opportunities and societal engagement
-Reduced homeless discrimination and promoted social inclusion
-Improved the relationship between pilot inhabitants and homeless groups

1)Public events will be organized in each pilot district to start raising awareness and increasing knowledge on urban and social marginalization of homeless and engage citizens in the political debate.
2) In the theatre workshop, following the world cafe methodology, citizens’ perceptions will be investigated and community maps will be created to be uploaded on the raising awareness web platform
3) During performative walks, audience will be asked to exchange opinions in an open air debate about homeless discrimination, starting from their perceptions of residence, sociality and time
4) Multiplier events organized and submitted by workshop participants, to replicate Walk with Me campaign in neighborhood districts and cities.

In line with SDG16, our vision is to build inclusive and democratic communities providing equal social, cultural and economic opportunities for all.
Specifically, within this project, our mission is to reduce homeless discrimination in access to housing, sociality, education, employment, health, while stimulating activism and awareness of the community.
By changing the narrative around homeless at community level, combating stereotypes, mistrust, and raising the general public’s awareness, we aim to promote inclusive relationships and services, ethnically diverse social environments, encouraging public institutions and private organizations to include homeless people in their social and economic plans.

SOCIAL ANIMATION €8.000

THEATRE WORKSHOP AND PERFORMATIVE WALKS €15.000

WEB PLATFORM €12.000

MULTIPLIER EVENTS €3.000

COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION €10.000

Brainstorming about project idea is always welcomed. Feel free to comment, but kindly :)