Florence residents are being asked to pay the utility bills of elderly people living alone and struggling to make ends meet as the city’s leaders seek to shield the most vulnerable from soaring energy costs.
The “adopt a bill” initiative begins in the next few days and comes as the social implications of a more than 50% hike in gas and electricity bills in Italy this winter start to manifest.
“The social impact is very strong as we’re facing huge increases in bills,” Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, told the Guardian. “We’ve received many calls and letters from people who are in great difficulty.”
About 27.6% of Florence’s population is over the age of 65, a number that has increased in recent years, with between 30,000 and 33,000 of pensioners living alone.
“And many are living below the poverty line, trying to survive off €9,000 (£7,500) a year,” added Nardella. “We have a list of all the people who are enrolled with the social services, and we can’t succeed in helping them all, as much as we will try to, as the council has also been hit by the high energy costs.”
Sara Funaro, Florence’s welfare councillor, said the council had 4,000 to 6,000 older people on its social services records, although she estimated the number of those in economic strife could now be higher.
“People who might have usually been able to manage, or who had some support, maybe from family, can’t do it any more,” she said. “From their pension they have to pay for rent, food and now these very high bills. We need to give them some serenity.”
The donations will be collected online by the Montedomini Foundation, which for decades has assisted elderly people in Florence, and citizens can give as much as they can afford.
Since news of the initiative was published by La Repubblica on Sunday, Montedomini has received dozens of messages from individuals and companies wanting to donate.
“It’s very impressive,” said Nardella. “The Florentines, when it comes to solidarity, are very responsive.”
Florence was among the major Italian cities that last week switched off the lights at famous monuments in a symbolic protest against high electricity costs, which are leaving many of them struggling to pay the bills for town halls and public buildings.
ANCI, the association of Italian municipalities, estimates that bills will increase by at least €550m for local councils, out of a total annual electricity expenditure of €1.6bn-€1.8bn.
Nardella said Florence had set aside €7.5m from its 2022 budget for the additional energy costs.
The Italian government has endeavoured to ease the burden of gas and electricity bills on families and businesses by so far enacting €5.5bn worth of support measures. The prime minister, Mario Draghi, said last week that the government was preparing a further “far-reaching intervention”.
