Refuge, home for LGBTQ + people, Pietro Turano: “We are family”

It is called Refuge and just like every refuge it becomes a family. One in which to find oneself, in which to feel safe, in which to stop being afraid, in which to discover the courage to stop hiding. She was born in Rome and since 2016 has welcomed LGBTQ + people who are removed, often mistreated, by their families after coming out. And they find themselves alone.

Thanks to Gay Center, Gay Help Line (800 713 713) and Speakly chat these boys and girls can ask for help and receive it, interacting directly with the operators who will accompany them throughout their stay inside the Refuge house. At the forefront there is Pietro Turanoactor, activist of the LGBTQ + community, spokesperson for Gay Center and soul of Refuge from his first day of life.

How does your home for LGBTQ + Refuge people work today?
«Refuge LGBT is a temporary reception facility managed by the Gay Center, which hosts homosexual, bisexual, transgender boys and girls who have suffered violence or alienation by their family of origin, precisely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Launched in 2016, it is the first project of this type in Italy, thanks to which today there is a national fund for the construction of new branches and LGBTQ + reception centers. Just like in a family, the project provides for a 360 ° welcome, thanks to the work of operators present H24 who together with the guest build a personalized path, with the aim of achieving independence and social reintegration as well as, where possible , even in the family context of origin thanks to family mediation. In order to achieve these goals in the most serene way possible, the guest is also accompanied in his own course of study or professional orientation, but above all he is followed from a legal, psychological and medical point of view according to individual needs. Even the management of the house itself represents a form of empowerment and socialization: the guests organize together shifts for cleaning, for cooking, for organizing group activities ».

How many people does it host?
“The house can accommodate up to 8 people at the same time and is currently full, with a waiting list. Obviously, any new case is accepted and taken care of even when the structure cannot physically and immediately welcome new people, thanks to the collaboration with a network of associations and institutions throughout the national territory. For some time now Gay Center has also managed “Refuge T – A casa di Ornella”, a new specific structure for the reception of trans people up to 40 years old ».

How do people get to you?
«Most of the reports come through the toll-free number of the Gay Help Line (800.713.713) and the Speakly chat, also managed by the Gay Center. In fact, the Refuge Lgbt reception project was born from the many years of experience (today 17 years) of the Gay Help Line listening and support service. The two services work perfectly in synergy and once welcomed, the people living in Refuge can access all levels of support and advice on the Gay Help Line. All this is possible thanks to the work of many volunteers who renew their commitment to this cause every day ».

What paths do they take once they get to you?
«Refuge LGBT is structured not to be simply a house that guarantees a bed, but like a real family. Each guest has the space and time to build a path based on their needs, together with the team working on the project: some people are helped to complete their studies, others to look for work. Some people need psychological or social support, others need to be able to undertake gender affirmation paths. Coexistence allows them to build independence, but also the skills necessary to live as a community ».

How long do they stay with you on average?
«On average between 6 and 12 months. Sometimes the welcome at home represents a fundamental response to an emergency which, thanks to this, is resolved in a shorter time: because the welcome in a protected environment allows you to give breath and serenity to young people and young women who ask for help, so to activate mediation paths with their families or their contexts of origin “.

What are they running from?
«Each story is different but all stories have elements of contact: they flee from violence, from lack of recognition, from family abandonment. Often they have been harassed, abused, have developed fears and social anxieties. Sometimes even exorcisms, rituals and reparative theories. Unfortunately, especially at a young age and with strong dependence on families, abandonment or refusal also lead to school dropout, loss of all financial resources, abandonment of oneself. In the absence of rules that identify the homotransphobic phenomenon in its specificity, people feel deprived of tools and recognition even outside the family that has already rejected them and Refuge was born precisely to lend a hand towards them, so that they know that there is a possibility for rebuild yourself and get back on your feet. Lately we have also been helping young people fleeing the war ».

What do they ask?
«To be seen and to have a chance like all other people, to build their own identity and their own life. They ask to be able to write their own story. If at 18 you are suddenly kicked out of your home for being homosexual or transgender, what do you do? They only ask to be able to follow their own path, to be able to experience their joys, sorrows, disappointments, successes like anyone else ».

Is there a particular story that has remained in your heart?
«All the stories remain inside me, they dig up and occupy a piece of my heart. But above all they make me grow. I am grateful for every encounter made during these ten years of activism, because the generosity that one encounters here is a rare and precious mineral. However, there is a story that makes me particularly proud: for some time a well-known brand has supported the project and some time ago I had the opportunity to present a Refuge guest for a job opportunity in line with his skills. The boy has just begun his path of transition and gender affirmation, since before reaching Refuge it was impossible for him to undertake it. We have just received confirmation that in a few days he will start working, in a place that recognizes and respects him for how he feels and wants. Furthermore, this opportunity will allow him to face his path with greater serenity and safety and this is all that gives meaning to my work ».

–Eclipsethe podcast by Pietro Turano: “So you get out of the shadows”

-Pietro Turano, Peter the Great