V.A.I.: Volunteer Assistance for Invalids

The V.A.I. is a voluntary organisation made up of men and women, young girls and boys who share a common desire to dedicate a minimum of one/two hours per week to visiting the ill in the hospital structures (S.Orsola Polyclinic, Malpighi, Maggiore Hospital). The main objective of V.A.I. is to provide a "friendly presence" much needed by the ill. V.A.I. coordinates the presence of volunteers in the various hospital wards and equally distributes the volunteers in time and space taking into account their availability and trying to ensure a meaningful service throughout the day.

Understanding and acknowledging the reality of an illness is a precious element for those who are healthy and lend their time to the ill, sharing their experience and offering friendship by being there and talking to them. In this way the hospital becomes a privileged environment, a place where people with different experiences of life meet. On the one hand the ill have the opportunity of escaping their isolation and on the other hand the volunteers have the opportunity of meeting people who could change their lives.