PRESS RELEASE
INTESA SANPAOLO: TOGETHER WITH SAN PATRIGNANO
TO GIVE A FUTURE BACK TO THOSE IN ADVERSITY
- Around 3,000 young people have been taken in since 2020 and around 800 have been supported in their rehabilitation with the Group's support
- Fundraising launched on For Funding to support the construction of 300 new lodgings in the San Patrignano Community
San Patrignano (RN), 27 June 2023 – Strengthening and improving the accommodation capacity of the San Patrignano Community in response to the underground addiction emergency: this was the challenge launched today by Intesa Sanpaolo and the San Patrignano Foundation as part of the event "Links for the future: together to give back a future" held at the Community on the day after the International Day Against Drug Abuse.
Data from the European Drugs Report, the Report to Parliament on Drug Addiction and the San Patrignano Observatory, which were presented during the proceedings, underscored the addiction emergency in Italy, showing that:
- Italy ranks third in Europe by the use of opiates and fourth by the use of psychoactive substances.
- the average age of users has decreased dramatically; in 2021, 621,000 students aged 15-19 reported having used a substance;
During the meeting, which involved experts from business, health, education and social reintegration, emphasis was placed on the shared journey that the Intesa Sanpaolo Group has taken with the Community since 2020 through the project "Support and prevent: together to give back a future". The project brings public attention to the issue of pathological addiction, in all its forms, and to prevention as the first tool to combat this social problem, which continues to affect Italy.
In the first three years of the partnership, which was recently extended through 2025, the initiative took in around 3,000 young people and supported the social reintegration of about 800 of them, at the end of the rehabilitation process undertaken at the Community, through training courses and certified job-training placement.
The project has underscored that San Patrignano is a residential community, a home and a family, where those who have fallen into the trap of addiction can take back their lives, find new meaning and, ultimately, discover the value of independence.
In more than 40 years, over 26,000 young people have passed through the Community, with 72% of them successfully reintegrating. Almost 20,000 of them are now living, working and building families: the population of a new city that would not have existed without the commitment of San Patrignano and its supporters.
The event was also an opportunity to launch the "Another brick for SanPa" fundraising campaign on For Funding, Intesa Sanpaolo's free crowdfunding platform, to support the construction of 300 new lodgings at the Community.
Elisa Zambito Marsala, Head of Social Development and University Relations Intesa Sanpaolo, commented: "Fighting the spread of drugs among minors and supporting the recovery and rehabilitation model offered by the San Patrignano Community, an example for Italy and Europe: these are the main goals of the project 'Support and prevent: together to give back a future', to which we have been committed since 2020 alongside the San Patrignano Foundation. A commitment that we intend to pursue with conviction and which we recalled at this highly significant event."
Letizia Moratti, co-founder of the San Patrignano Foundation, commented: "The desire for rebirth is the defining trait of those who come to San Patrignano. This is why the project to raise funds for 300 new beds brings a ray of light back to the days of so many, young and old, rekindling hope to promote their redemption in our society. It is not an easy process, but San Patrignano is a shining example of hospitality and inclusion, where everyone is someone and no one comes last or goes unseen. We face this latest challenge through a friendship – that with Intesa Sanpaolo – renewed and strengthened by this project: to go it alone and win is almost impossible, but when playing as a team it is not only possible, but more enjoyable and rewarding."
Press information
Intesa Sanpaolo
Media and Associations Relations
Institutional, Social and Cultural Activities
https://group.intesasanpaolo.com/en/newsroom/news
Comunità San Patrignano
Matteo Diotalevi
Cell. 333.4858343
About Intesa Sanpaolo
Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading banking group – serving families, businesses and the real economy – with a significant international presence. Intesa Sanpaolo’s distinctive business model makes it a European leader in Wealth Management, Protection & Advisory, highly focused on digital and fintech, in particular with Isybank, the Group’s digital bank. An efficient and resilient Bank, it benefits from its wholly-owned product factories in asset management and insurance. The Group’s strong ESG commitment includes providing €115 billion in impact lending by 2025 to communities and for the green transition, and €500 million in contributions to support people most in need, positioning Intesa Sanpaolo as a world leader in terms of social impact. Intesa Sanpaolo is committed to Net Zero by 2030 for its own emissions and by 2050 for its loan and investment portfolios. An engaged patron of Italian culture, Intesa Sanpaolo has created its own network of museums, the Gallerie d’Italia, to host the bank's artistic heritage and as a venue for prestigious cultural projects.
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Comunità San Patrignano
San Patrignano is the largest rehabilitation community for young women and men with addiction problems in Europe and currently houses over 800 young people. For all of them and their families, the recovery process is completely free of charge. From 1978 to the present, San Patrignano has welcomed more than 26,000 people, offering them a home, health and legal assistance, the opportunity to study, learn a job and fully reintegrate into society at the end of their recovery process. According to research carried out by the University of Bologna, which monitored a group of former community residents five years after their reintegration into society, 72% of young people who successfully complete the course do not relapse into drug addiction. In addition, the Community has long been involved in addiction prevention projects, meeting with over 40,000 students a year.
Last updated 27 June 2023 at 09:47
