Our history

On March 25, 1994, the Progetto Arca Association was established in Milan, initiated by a group of volunteers from the Refuge of Brother Ettore Boschini. Thanks to the collaboration with the Centro Ambrosiano di Solidarietà, the first reception facility for homeless people with addiction problems was opened.

Progetto Arca is recognized as a non-profit organization. New residential reception services in the field of addiction are established.

The first projects outside the field of addiction begin: food support and social care for the elderly and at-risk families.

The ‘Homes for Integration’ project is launched to support individuals and families facing economic and housing difficulties.

The first Progetto Arca Street Unit is established in Milan.

Progetto Arca joins the SPRAR (Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) and, in July, responds to the North Africa Emergency by launching humanitarian reception for refugees fleeing the Libyan civil war.

For the first time, Progetto Arca takes part in Milan’s Cold Weather Plan, setting up six reception facilities for homeless people in just a few days. The first international project is launched in India: a farm for the work integration of orphaned and at-risk youth in the Kerala region.

This is the year of the Syria emergency. Progetto Arca opens the First Aid Hub at Milan’s Central Station and establishes extraordinary reception facilities. In Rome, the Street Unit is launched, and in Naples, collaboration begins with La Casetta Onlus to provide food support for impoverished families in the Phlegraean area. In Milan, Progetto Arca is entrusted with the management of two large decommissioned schools, in Via Mambretti and Via Aldini, to accommodate vulnerable people and the homeless.

In collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, the Post-Acute Medical Ward for the Homeless is inaugurated in Milan. The Street Unit service also launches in Naples, and in Rome, the first residential reception project for people facing housing difficulties begins. Progetto Arca joins the Housing First Italia network, promoted by fio.PSD, and starts a pilot program to house homeless individuals in apartments.

The migrant emergency reaches its peak. In addition to expanding reception within the SPRAR system, a Special Reception Center is opened for asylum-seeking women and mothers with children, along with a community for unaccompanied foreign minors.

Progetto Arca takes part in the establishment of Progetto Mirasole Impresa Sociale, winning a 30-year lease contract for the management of the Mirasole Abbey in Opera (MI), which has now become a place of reception and socio-occupational integration.

At Mirasole Abbey, a temporary social housing project is launched for families in housing emergencies, along with a co-housing initiative for single mothers with children. The social housing network expands with new apartments for households facing eviction, awaiting public housing, or with insufficient income to access the housing market. The first Solidarity Markets open in Bacoli (NA) and Rozzano.

Progetto Arca is on the front line of the Covid-19 emergency with Street Units, Mobile Kitchens, and Street Vaccination Clinics to protect homeless individuals. The distribution of food parcels is strengthened nationwide to meet the exponential increase in requests for help.

In Milan, Cascina Vita Nova opens its doors to provide apartment housing for homeless individuals with dogs and dedicated services for the most vulnerable citizens, including a canteen, a social wardrobe, and a Social Market.

Within 48 hours of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Progetto Arca’s first humanitarian convoy is on-site to provide assistance and protection to thousands of people fleeing the conflict. A first reception camp is set up on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, along with two social canteens in Chernivtsi and Oradea for war refugees. In Italy, the Food Truck service expands to Varese, Turin, Padua, Rome, Naples, and Bari. In Milan, Hub 126 opens as an Emergency Response Center for social crises and a key support hub for homeless individuals.

After Bacoli (NA) and Rozzano, the network of Social Markets expands to nine Italian cities. On the international front, Progetto Arca launches the “Arca in the World” initiative. Today, the organization operates in 12 countries with development projects and humanitarian emergency responses.

Progetto Arca celebrates its 30th anniversary. In a flashmob in Milan, statues of prominent figures are wrapped in warm blankets. “Cover the most important people in the city” – a symbolic gesture to draw attention to homeless individuals, who are equally important. Social Housing reaches 139 apartments. Two residential buildings for individuals and families in housing emergencies open their doors in Rome and Milan.