DAR=CASA cooperative, ARCI and Comunità Progetto cooperative won the public call issued by the Municipality of Milan in order to find the subjects that will:

- renovate the flats and spaces for public services

- manage the different steps of the project: selection of tenants and flat allocation, property and facility management, organization of voluntary work, team building, communication management.

In 2014 the partners renovated and refurbished the flats in 4 months; then they launched a public call to find 24 young persons who wanted to join the project. The applicants were required to have objective qualifications (age, income, type of job contract); their CVs and previous experience in the voluntary sector were evaluated in order to choose the winners. When the call expired, the applicants were more than the available flats. The partners interviewed each applicant to find the suitable ones. The selected tenants signed a short term rent.

DAR=CASA helps young tenants in their first steps, when they start living in their flats. The cooperative carries out facility and property management: it checks potential rent arrears and asks for the reason for it; arranges repayment plans; supports people in becoming aware of the proper way to manage their homes.

DAR=CASA’s employees work closely with the ARCI and Comunità progetto’s educators. Their role in the project is more related to field work: they meet all tenants to know them and their story better and to define their housing needs on a longer period. They work on the organization of voluntary work in the two local contexts and team building.

The selection of a voluntary project for each tenant has to consider the needs and resources emerging form the contexts. It has to be flexible in order to adapt to possible new social elements and changes in the tenants’ availability. One of the objectives of the voluntary projects is the empowerment of other tenants, who are stimulated to join common activities. The two spaces for common activities represent an important resource to improve the inhabitants’ skills.