Misericordia Ponente Soccorso is a voluntary association that is part of the Movimento delle Misericordie, founded in Florence in 1244 by Pietro da Verona, later known as San Pietro Martire. Today, the Misericordie are present in Italy and abroad with over 700 confraternities.
History
Ponente Soccorso Onlus was founded in Genoa, in the Multedo district, in 2007, thanks to the initiative of a group of young people wishing to establish an association aimed at providing a healthcare service and setting up an additional social support facility in a district that had none.
In 2009, Ponente Soccorso was awarded the ASL agreements for non-emergency transport and emergency services. Today, the association continues to serve the community by transporting people with disabilities, providing emergency services and social transport, while also expanding its work to include internal services and patient discharges at Ospedale San Martino, as well as transport from Ospedale Galliera and Ospedale Villa Scassi.
In 2015, following a change in the law that altered the requirements for retaining the agreements, the association was forced to leave Multedo and moved to the working-class district of Ca’ Nuova (C.E.P.) in western Genoa. During that period, Pubblica Assistenza Croce Azzurra Ca’ Nova ceased its activities due to administrative problems, enabling Ponente Soccorso to take over management of the premises after submitting a request to the Municipality and A.R.T.E. di Genova.
Also in 2015, Ponente Soccorso began the process of becoming a fully fledged Misericordia, working with the Confraternita delle Misericordie d’Italia. During the move, the agreements for the medical emergency service were suspended for approximately six months; medical emergency activities resumed in the new district on 29 September 2016.
Maintenance work on the new premises began in 2018. In September of the same year, ASD C’èPonente requested the use of part of the premises. On 30 June 2019, the association opened a club reserved for members and neighbourhood festivities began that summer.
Since 2019, because of the new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the volunteers have rolled up their sleeves not only to serve the population in emergencies, but also to offer more substantial and continuous social support. They began delivering groceries and medicines free of charge to quarantined residents who would otherwise have had difficulty obtaining food. Today, they run a listening centre where they support the community with administrative procedures and the home delivery of groceries and medicines. They also accompany and assist older people with grocery shopping and paying bills, as well as providing companionship.
Activities
- LISTENING CENTRE
- HOME DELIVERY OF MEDICINES AND GROCERIES
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES
- SOCIAL AND HEALTHCARE SERVICES
- EMERGENCY SERVICES
- CIVIL PROTECTION
Contacts
Via Martiri del Turchino, 46 – 16157 Genova
Tel. +39 0106671837