Surveying homelessness in Rome, the way to the first Notte della Solidarietà

In 2023 the National Statistical Institute of Italy signed a collaboration agreement with the Department of Social Policies and Health of Roma Capitale in order to provide methodological support for the implementation of a survey of the homeless people in the city of Rome. The survey is based on the Point in Time approach. It is a street-by-street count on a specific day and within a defined time frame. The Notte della solidarietà survey, carried out on the evening of 20 April 2024, counted people sleeping in the overnight shelters and on the streets, and by means of a short questionnaire it captured some of their basic characteristics. Given the complexity from the organisational and methodological point of view, a pilot survey was carried out in 2023 in the Esquilino neighbourhood alone. Esquilino is considered to have a high concentration of homeless people due to the presence of the Termini railway station. Various aspects of the survey were tested: the content and type of questionnaire, the size and structure of the areas to be surveyed, and the volunteers’ training. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how the experience of the pilot survey and its results led to design the methodological framework and organisational structure of the first Notte della solidarietà in the city of Rome.