When a child is sick and hospitalized, families need comprehensive support, both medically and humanely. The anguish and stress are enormous, and having loving and understanding support can make a big difference. For families who come from a different city than the one in which the hospital is located, the situation is even more difficult, because they also need a welcoming place to stay. It is crucial that these families find adequate support so that they can devote themselves fully to the care of their little one without having to worry about additional logistical difficulties. This is precisely where the EOS Association's action intervenes with La Casa di Leo, which stands in the town of Treviolo (BG) to welcome and support families of children hospitalized at the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo, a referral center for transplants and oncohematological treatment. The House, with 5 rooms with bathrooms and common areas such as a kitchen and dining room, is totally eco-friendly and earthquake-proof. From 2018 to date, it has offered shelter, help and support to 149 families. What does this support consist of? It is not only a housing solution: in the facility, in fact, families can count on about 200 volunteers, but also on the professional support of psychologists, pedagogists, educators, psychomotricists, teachers for teaching Italian language to foreign families and for distance education. Support for the entire duration of the stay, which ranges from an average of 45 days with peaks touching as long as 3 years, allows families to regain the peace of mind to face the experience of the disease and restore as much serenity as possible to the child. La Casa di Leo can now become even bigger and welcome more and more families: with the Leo Diventa Grande project, which we have chosen to support, the facility will be expanded from 5 to 15 rooms, as well as 3 self-contained apartments. The goal is to accommodate more families with pediatric patients from Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, 20 percent of whom come from outside the region. Not only housing: in La Casa di Leo there will be a basement floor dedicated to services and storage, a rehabilitation gymnasium open to the territory, multipurpose rooms, a large common area with kitchens, play rooms for children's and parents' games and activities, locker rooms for volunteers, and toilets dedicated to them. The upper floor will house the association's new offices and three fully self-contained apartments for immunocompromised patients who need to be isolated. Finally, outdoor spaces, expanded play areas, a community garden, and an arena for outdoor meetings. We want La Casa di Leo to be more and more a welcoming, hospitable place that not only allows hospitalized children and their families to stay but also allows them to live a peaceful life, among shared spaces and play activities. To find a space of normality even in the most difficult moments. Details Location: Treviolo (BG) Association: EOS Association Beneficiaries: 150 pediatric patients and their families per year Contribution: 200,000 euros Period: December 2023 - December 2024
