Dear friends and colleagues,
The Frantz Fanon Centre was opened in spring 1996 and
carried on its activities in the framework of the Italian National Health
Service. From 2002 on we cooperated with the Department of Mental Health,
offering free consultation and treatment to immigrants and their families
affected by psychological vulnerability, mental illness, or at risk of social
drift. We had four rooms in which to receive patients.
One year ago, on January 15 2013 - for a choice due to
political interferences - the public health unit where we were lodged decided
to put an end to the experience. Although the service – which we created
according to an innovative methodology that quickly configured a groundbreaking
practice in Italy – has been outsourced to a private society, none of the 250
patients we were attending has received a treatment so far. We needed to keep
on attending their – often urgent – psychological needs, but with no place
where to do it.
