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Aldo Tanas Day Center

LOW-THRESHOLD DAY CENTRE “PORTE APERTE ALDO TANAS”

The “Porte Aperte (Open Doors) Aldo Tanas” Centre has been active in Florence since 1997. It is a low-threshold service that carries out harm-reduction and health-promotion interventions that encourage the social integration of both Italians and foreign nationals who use psychoactive substances and live on the extreme margins of society (homeless people, people who are “temporarily present” in the area, people who have been discharged from health facilities, prisons, special communities). It is a drop-in day shelter without any access criteria to be met, that offers its users a moment of “respite” from the streets. With respect to substance abuse/use, it offers its users a context of support to make different, mature choices and to work towards independence. It is possible to access the centre directly by means of a referral from social services or thanks to “word of mouth” between peers. The methodology is that of “low-threshold” interventions and “harm reduction” and bringing about a process of empowerment.

The Objectives of the Centre:

Reception;
Facilitating access to social services;
Monitoring the target population and existing resources;
Provision of health centres aimed at the prevention of infections of HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B, other sexually transmitted diseases and overdose.

The team is made up of a main contact person, three operators and a cultural mediator who speaks Arabic, and can be assisted by volunteers from the National Civil Service and trainees from the University of Florence and other educational institutions.

The Centre is located within the local network, a point of connection and mediation between the streets and social services, with initiatives that are aimed at improving the living conditions of the individuals in question: