A new chapter for social inclusion and the reintegration into work opens to Milano. The Municipality and the Juvenile Court have signed a collaboration agreement, in the presence of the councilors Alessia Cappello (Economic Development and Labor Policies) and Lamberto Bertolé (Welfare and Health), together with the president of the Court, Maria Carla Gatto. This agreement, which recognizes the Common as a host institution for the Public Utility Works, will offer minors and young adult offenders a concrete alternative to detention.
The project: work as an opportunity for recovery and reintegration into society
The agreement aims to promote the recovery and empowerment of young people who have committed crimes, through work activities within various municipal offices. Some structures have been identified in five Directorates of the Municipality – Youth and Sport, Culture, Civic Services, Welfare, Environment and Greenery – where the young people involved will be able to carry out community service. This initiative represents an important turning point in the approach to juvenile justice, focusing on rehabilitation and social reintegration paths.
The main objective is to make the re-educational function of punishment effective, allowing young people to confront the disvalue of their actions and to develop a new awareness through work. The Municipality will guarantee the presence of professional educators who will accompany the young people on this path, providing continuous support to facilitate their reintegration into society.
Reintegration: where will the community service work take place?
The activities envisaged by the agreement will be distributed across different locations and operational areas, offering young people diversified training experiences:
– Day centres for disabled people: The children will assist the operators in entertainment, small maintenance and logistics tasks, encouraging their interaction with people with disabilities.
– Natural History Museum: Participants will be responsible for inventorying and cataloging the exhibits, as well as maintenance work and botanical activities, thus promoting direct contact with culture and history.
– Renovated Agro-zootechnical Laboratory Pizzigoni: Here, young people will be able to try their hand at supporting the care of animals and plants, learning the basics of agricultural and zootechnical practices.
– Botanical Museum of Villa Lonati and Comunemente Verde: In these locations, the children will be involved in the first weeding operations in the municipal greenhouses, developing skills in the field of botany and green maintenance.
– Monumental Cemetery: In this context, young people will participate in cleaning operations, ordinary maintenance and support to the management for organizational aspects, gaining experience in logistics and management.
Reintegration into society: a project of social inclusion and empowerment
The project is part of the initiatives foreseen by the Milan Pact for Workwhich aims to promote active policies for the social inclusion, employment and vocational training of persons involved in criminal proceedings. This approach, in line with the directives of the Juvenile Criminal Code, prioritises restorative justice over detention, which is considered a last resort.
“The protocol signed today represents an important step towards offering young people who have committed crimes new opportunities for recovery through community service work,” explained Alessia Cappello, Councilor for Labor Policies and Economic Development for the Municipality of Milan. “We want to offer them a concrete alternative to detention, allowing them to live an educational experience that can become an opportunity for redemption and personal growth.”
Restorative justice as a guiding principle
The Welfare Councillor, Lamberto Bertolestressed that this agreement is in line with the principles of juvenile justice, which favors paths of accountability and reparation: “A minor who commits a crime has rarely made a conscious choice to commit crime. For this reason, the Juvenile Criminal Code provides that detention is only the last solution, focusing instead on paths of restorative justice that allow young people to constructively face the consequences of their actions”.
Even the president of the Juvenile Court of Milan, Maria Carla Catexpressed his appreciation for the initiative, highlighting how it represents a virtuous example of collaboration between institutions to facilitate the reintegration of young people into the social fabric. «This initiative aims to make the process of empowerment and training of young people who have entered the circuit of deviance effective, helping them find their place in society through work».
Towards a new model of inclusion
The agreement between the Municipality of Milan and the Juvenile Court is an innovative model for the management of alternative sentences for minors. In addition to reducing the risk of recidivism, this project promotes effective social inclusion, based on the principle that work can be a powerful tool for change.
The proposed courses aim to involve young people in concrete experiences that can stimulate critical reflection on their behavior, while promoting the development of skills useful for their future work. This initiative emphasizes the importance of justice that is not only punitive, but also re-educational and oriented towards building a new beginning.
A support network for young people in difficulty
The Municipality of Milan is committed to ensuring the necessary support so that young people can live this experience as an opportunity for growth. The support of professional educators will be essential to offer constant guidance, allowing young people to understand the value of work and to feel part of a larger community.
The agreement with the Juvenile Court of Milan represents, therefore, an important step forward in building an inclusive support network, capable of offering these young people a real path to redemption and social reintegration.