Elderly Free Meals on the Rise at Rome Shelter

For many years, Italy's population saw a consistent yearly decrease, a trend which has only been reversed over the past few years as Italian and immigrant couples began having more children. Still, at present about 20% of Italy's population is aged 65 or older.

Being a country with high costs of living and relatively low wages and pensions compared to our European neighbors, understandably it can be difficult for the elderly to survive here on a fixed income. In fact, according to an article in the Corriere Adriatico, in the first quarter of 2010, there was a 10% increase in the number of Italian nationals who look to shelters like Caritas in order to take advantage of the free mails served daily.

The shelter, which serves about 1000 free meals per day to Rome's needy, also saw an increase of 7% among foreign nationals this year compared to last. According to the report, the foreigners who eat at the shelter are mostly under thirty years of age, while the Italians at the shelter are nearly all over 65. Many of those coming for free meals are homeless and/or unemployed, but many others are pensioners who simply cannot afford to pay for groceries after seeing most of their pension check be gobbled up by high rents.

According to the article, the shelter not only provides Rome's elderly with free meals, but also a chance to commiserate with other pensioners who worked hard all their lives only to end up poor and standing in line for a free meal at a shelter.

I can't help but asking, could these be the old generation of Italians who didn't have children? Italy is known all over the world for its emphasis on taking care of family. How could Italians sleep at night knowing that the parents who raised them are being fed at a homeless shelter? Or are the parents too proud to tell them?