Caritas Diocese of Como reports rising poverty and housing crisis in 2025

The Caritas Foundation of the Diocese of Como released its first systematic 2025 poverty report, compiling data from its 14 Listening Centres across the provinces of Como, Lecco, Varese and Sondrio. In 2025 the centres conducted 2,070 interviews, assisting 970 people—a slight decline from the previous year—but 62% of those served were already known to the centres, indicating entrenched poverty. The report shows that 57% of aid recipients are foreign nationals and highlights two main problems: "work poverty," where workers in part‑time, seasonal or on‑call contracts earn insufficient wages, and a housing crisis driven by high rents, short‑term tourist rentals and barriers for foreign tenants.

Overall, 215 volunteers support the network, averaging about 15 per site. Cuveglio records the highest volunteer count with 33 people, followed by Morbegno (25) and Tirano (20). Ivana Fazzi of the Caritas Foundation noted, "It is the first time we aim to analyse and reinterpret the data collected by the 14 centres," while Caritas director Rossano Breda warned that the figures illustrate a chronicisation of poverty in northern Italy. The report aims to inform future community and policy responses to these persistent challenges.

The document also outlines the work of the Family‑Labour Solidarity Fund, launched in 2020, which has supported 670 families and distributed €880,000 to date.