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Today we talk about the beautiful project that Silvia Turzio, together with two other beautiful women, Paola Casalino and Jennifer Della Lucia, created and developed.
Silvia is a longtime friend who moved to Milan for study and work. We have lost sight of each other for many years and meeting her again recently made me very happy.
"All the studies in the economic, financial and insurance fields made previously made it clear to me that the most affected part in a life that was lengthening a lot (we are those who, since the advent of the human species on earth, are the longest-lived in absolute) would have been that of the elderly, the most fragile in our world that runs faster and faster as they slow down.
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I have always wondered how it was possible to remedy a system that is unable to withstand people's longevity, adequately. This question that I kept asking myself then became my job. In Italy we have a strongly public health system, which in this last year has been critically tested, but which nevertheless has been one of the world excellences. We have also been copied a lot abroad. With the passage of time and the increase in the age of the population, the system needs to be supported from the outside.
Faced with the aging of one's parents, one finds oneself unprepared and tends to want to do everything alone.
With heavy consequences that affect health and family relationships. The necessary support is not purely medical, but also economic and psychological.
The idea was born to fill a highly disabling void throughout the territory. VillageCare fills that space.
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The VillageCare team is all female, made up of experts in the social welfare sector and national and international services, united by the passion of those who know the needs of families facing non-self-sufficiency. This is because all of us founding members are caregivers of parents in need.
The "innovative start-up with a social vocation" was born in 2015. Since its birth it has received important awards: it has been awarded as innovative start-up of the year by the Municipality of Milan - Bando FabriQ - and by the incubator of innovative companies Impact Hub Milano, in compliance with the provisions dictated by the Ministry of Economic Development for those dedicated to social innovation.
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Since 2017, VillageCare has been making premium services available for families who express the need to be supported with personalized advice or who require the products and services offered under privileged conditions by our partners in the medical, healthcare, tourism, home and away from home, in the needs of accompanying elderly people for medical visits and errands.
To better understand the national situation, Italy is the second longest-lived country in the world and 23% of the population has already passed the age of 65. In this context, we have about 8 million family members who systematically take care of the elderly and do so by working, with children to raise and having to integrate the care of the elderly into their lives.
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This is a huge silent army, which does a lot and which suffers the economic, regulatory and psychological difficulties that often compromise work activities and produce a very high social impact.
Our goal is to give help in finding as quickly as possible the solutions to small and large problematic situations that the children of elderly and perhaps not self-sufficient parents find themselves facing on a daily basis, so that they can live their state more peacefully. From vacation management, to finding equipment, medicines, assistance or help for small errands. By doing this we create a model that helps concretely and that turns into a significant positive social impact. Especially for that female part of the population who bear the greatest burden on the care of the elderly.
The help we give allows people with this problem to "be relieved" as much as possible from managing everything by themselves. We are still unwilling to ask for help from others, to discover family difficulties and to expose the difficulties that the care of our elderly parents gives rise to.
There is no need to travel to get our help. One call is enough. We are operational nationwide.
We have also brought to the attention of companies the opportunity to structure within their welfare systems, their benefits, their company training courses, actions that vent and support all that part of employees crushed by the management of too many difficulties. which obviously are not expressed at the top of the companies they work for. The response of large companies has been very favorable, given that they are already working with a view to expanding services to employees. However, it is the small and medium-sized enterprises that still have a lot to work on.
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In the coming years, the investment will be in artificial intelligence to recognize and intercept all the needs of families and thus help many more.
To support this type of investment, in April we opened a capital increase for those who believe in this type of vision of long-term welfare, with the possibility of being part of it by contributing capital.
Synergy and networking are the goals for a better future.
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Sito VillageCare www.villagecare.itÂ
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