From 13 to 24 May 2024, at the OpenLab Edificio B2 (Campus Bovisa, via Candiani 72), in collaboration with Sesta Opera, clothing and personal hygiene items will be collected for inmates in the Young Adults ward of the Milan San Vittore ‘Francesco Di Cataldo’ Prison.

By donating clothing that you no longer use, you can give them a second chance, but also contribute to improving the quality of the time the young people spend in prison, waiting for trial or involved in the socialisation process.

What you can donate: used clothing (men’s or unisex)

YES: shoes (without metal reinforcement), shower slippers, bath towels, towels, bathrobe without a belt (and without a hood: if so, consider whether it can be cut off), warm socks, tank tops, t-shirts with or without sleeves, thermal shirts, sweatshirts and jackets (without a hood or with the hood removed). Underwear: only new packages are accepted.

NO: clothing with hood (in case: assess whether it can be cut off), scarves, hats, gloves, belts, underwear.

To be evaluated case-by-case: branded clothing (if expensive brands  they may create internal conflicts and inequalities). Are also useful: plastic bottles of toiletries (bottle size: medium/small), washed and if possible with label removed. They are reused to distribute soap, shampoo, shower gel, etc.

Since October 2022, the Off Campus San Vittore space has been active within the first prison range. Researchers from the Department of Design, lecturers from the School of Design, lead a weekly storytelling workshop in the Young Adults department, in which mostly boys and girls of the same age from the Politecnico participate. In many cases, these young people only have the clothes they wear on the street and have no family to help them. Hygienic conditions and their physical well-being are therefore also strongly influenced by this situation.

Off Campus San Vittore explores the relationship between the prison and the city and is a unique initiative that was created as a university and research facility within the prison.

The Politecnico di Milano promotes this initiative in cooperation with the Bocconi and Bicocca Universities (Sportello Giuridico). Developing a multidisciplinary research approach and actions in the field, Off Campus San Vittore aims to generate new knowledge on the places of imprisonment, to support and promote projects in the prison, greater integration and new interconnections between the prison environment and the urban fabric. The Off Campus space is located within the detention area of the prison, in the first ward, and is open two days and one afternoon per week. Researchers and lecturers from three Politecnico di Milano Departments (Architecture and Urban Studies, Design and Mathematics) work within the space, developing research, teaching and design activities, in collaboration with people operating inside and outside the prison.

OFF CAMPUS is the initiative promoted as part of Polisocial, the Politecnico di Milano’s social responsibility programme, with the aim of strengthening the University’s presence in the city of Milan and a more responsible university, attentive to social challenges, open and close to the territories and communities.

For further information: offcampus-sanvittore@polimi.it