Caring for the elderly during the COVID-19 emergency: the role of the community and youth volunteering
Francesca Cirillo
This paper attempts to answer these questions by presenting an experience of unconventional practice placement. A project arising from the collaboration between a municipality and a charity organisation to address community problem-solving due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emergency will be presented. The project aimed to develop actions to support the elderly in the community during the pandemic lockdown in Italy. This paper discusses the importance of collaboration and networking between public services, no profit organisations and civil society in general. It also highlights the important role of young people who, in the worst possible time of the emergency, took action by becoming volunteers and providing essential help to the elderly. This intra-generational exchange has allowed the community to respond positively in a moment of crisis.
Keywords
Community work, Participation, Sanitary emergency, Unconventional Practice Placement, Community problem solving.
