{"id":10995,"date":"2026-04-29T14:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/10995\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:10:08","slug":"italian-host-a-migrant-for-free-scheme-turns-into-major-flop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/10995\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian \u2018Host a Migrant for Free\u2019 Scheme Turns into Major Flop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italian \u2018take one migrant home for free\u2019 initiative turned out to be a major flop, as only three families expressed willingness to join the scheme over a three-month period. The programme was launched by Refugees Welcome Italia, an Italian NGO promoting the \u2018social inclusion\u2019 of migrants through family-based hosting and mentoring initiatives, and aimed to find residents of Rome willing to host migrants with valid residence permits in their homes free of charge.<\/p>\n

However, as reported by Fratelli d\u2019Italia (FdI) councillor Mariacristina Masi, there was little appetite<\/a> among Romans to take migrants into their own homes. \u2018Meetings are taking place, monitoring is in place. But the central issue is another one. In our view, the service is not producing the main result for which it was designed, namely the concrete activation of new family-hosting arrangements,\u2019 Masi stated after requesting access to reports concerning the operator\u2019s activities between January and March 2026.<\/p>\n

This was a scenario critics had predicted from the outset, ever since the municipality launched a \u20ac399,000 tender to find an organization willing to persuade citizens to provide food and accommodation \u2018to individual migrants and\/or family or single-parent migrant households\u2019.<\/p>\n

Beyond the already existing\u2014and mostly negative\u2014experiences many Romans associate with migration, what appears to have discouraged participation most was the fact that host families were offered no reimbursement or financial support whatsoever.<\/p>\n

\u2018While thousands of Romans are facing a housing emergency, the left continues with na\u00efve policies that attract uncontrolled immigration and produce decay, theft, and insecurity,\u2019 League group leader in the Rome City Council Fabrizio Santori argued.<\/p>\n

Despite concerns that the initiative was destined to fail from the beginning, the city administration led by left-wing mayor Roberto Gualtieri awarded the contract to Refugees Welcome Italia in December 2025.<\/p>\n

\u2018Investing resources in an external organization without providing adequate support mechanisms for host families risked\u2014and is now proving\u2014to be an ineffective choice,\u2019 Masi said, adding that the scale of the tender had clearly implied expectations of far more substantial results.<\/p>\n

\u2018Faced with such significant resources, one would expect a substantial increase in host families and activated cohabitation arrangements. Instead, the current data show an extremely limited impact,\u2019 she stressed, noting that the programme is scheduled to continue until 31 December 2028.<\/p>\n

The initiative also drew sharp criticism online from citizens who argued that many Italians are already struggling financially themselves. \u2018People can barely make it to the end of the month, let alone host migrants in their homes for free. It\u2019s science fiction,\u2019 one user wrote. Another added that the municipality \u2018needs to return to reality,\u2019 arguing that \u2018people here no longer live peacefully.\u2019<\/p>\n

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