Digital Facilitation Month: stories from the IV Municipality
During Digital Facilitation Month, we are travelling around Rome to report on what really happens in the municipalities, behind the counters and in the rooms where citizens' trust in institutions is played out every day. Thanks to the work of digital facilitators, together with municipal staff, we have encountered people, stories and everyday difficulties that technology can make easier when someone helps you find your way. Today we arrive in the heart of Municipality IV, a “frontier” reality that welcomes diverse communities, fragility and intense life paths. This is where the last story of our journey begins.
We are behind the Rebibbia prison. The offices, in Via Rivisondoli, are in a rather residential and quiet setting, opposite the Giovanni Palombini comprehensive school, surrounded by greenery. The users are very diverse because the neighbourhood has been enriched by a very lively Bangladeshi community, and there is also a nomadic population from a nearby settlement. The different situations to be managed are linked to the multi-ethnic origin of the inhabitants, but even when they speak the same language, their cultures are often different. “Some citizens are not used to understanding that to obtain a document, it is not enough to queue at the counter, but you need to book an appointment,” explained an employee, 'they get agitated and raise their voices. At that point, you have to speak firmly and calmly, without fear of explaining the procedure clearly.‘
This is a ’frontier" town hall: thanks to special permits, employees deliver documents to prisoners in the nearby Rebibbia prison or meet with the prisoners' ombudsman. In addition, for those over 85 and for people with permanent or temporary disabilities, there is a unique service: “home delivery”. After receiving caregivers or friends of frail citizens, employees go to their homes to deliver the document.
Our facilitators told us some stories. A retired teacher in his eighties had to activate the CIE on behalf of his disabled son. He went to our facilitation centre and, in order to complete the procedure, had to call his son's carer at home. To make his life easier, the facilitator and one of the employees at the counter managed to link his mobile phone number to his son's electronic identity card. Amidst memories of his profession and moments of emotion over his family's difficulties, the teacher finally managed to resolve a significant problem, thus gaining access to INPS benefits, with completely dedicated assistance.
Clarissa has a very special story: no longer young, she recently met the love of her life and will be getting married at Christmas. Unfortunately, her documents were stolen. But with the help of our facilitators, she will probably get her documents in time for the bouquet toss!
The story is by Onelia Onorati, press office of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. 
