Poverello tries to live in solidarity and communion with the poor, our volunteers and God, knowing that we are all part of the same human family.

The loneliness and the incapacity to create a durable relationship is a great poverty in our society and cause of much instability. People like you and me end up in poverty for many different reasons and often start looking for security in the anonymity of big cities.

Those who come to Poverello first need warm food, clothing, a bed, hygiene and sometimes medical care. We can provide administrative help so that an identity card, address and income can be acquired. But a safe place to find rest, balance and meet others  is more necessary. Your life starts to have meaning again when you experience that you are not a failure, people care for you and you can mean something for others despite your incapacities, weaknesses and poverty.

Hundreds of volunteers help weekly at Poverello. By performing practical tasks they share their lives. Volunteers do their work discretely, without thinking of themselves as better than those who they serve. We try to create an environment of trust where we can get to know each other on a voluntary basis. Everyone can share as much or little as they want and when they want.

The practical efforts may seem far from our ambitions as an organisation: like a poor relief service instead of a community. However, in reality we live like a family in which everyone has a different role. A mother has different limits than the family friend or the second cousin. We all know that we belong together in this family, regardless of our differences.