Il Melograno

The project are thinked for the so-called disadvantaged and weak categories,has the further goal of becoming a potential development agent for the local area and beyond, through the provision of various socio-health and welfare services that the public structures are not always able to guarantee,thus guaranteeing the possibility for these subjects to be able to fully live their lives in a dignified and stimulating manner.

Our solution is to create various active protected residence that,through the involvement of guests in various projects and activities,aims to social integration and also work of "patients"in an increasingly indipendent way,without neglecting the cultural,recreational and the social tourism aspect.

The Center and its structures will be possible to give a customized solution to the unique needs that a person may need,also guaranteeing the patient's stay in an unique territory,thus reducing the "shock" and stress due to the coming of problems;also the permanence on the territory of the subjects already residing there also means keep family and friendship relations firm. Our winning point is the offer of integrated physical and psychological care solutions thanks to the structures directly present on the territory,that allow to make really customized cares solution based on the needs of every person.

Today the people with health or mentally needs are forced to change city or contact various and various centers with an amount of costs, time and difficulties in the care path or in the educative path, all of this difficulties make the life of this subjects very trouble and in our vision this is undignified for these peoples, all of this people hope to do her care path in the own territory, we want to do that!

• The 4.360.000 disable in Italy, 438.491 in Sicily (Source: Fondazione Serono)
• The 1.647.702 children in the range of 0-6 years old in Italy, 154.451 in Sicily, plus of 634.600 children attending in private schools in Italy, 33.000 in Sicily (Source: STAT)
• 10.488.000 elderly in Italy need assistance, 840.000 in Sicily (Source: ISTAT)

The project and the entrepreneurial idea is based on the needs of the habitants of the territory, to whom the solutions developed by us are addressed which, at present, do not find solutions to their needs within their native territory and are forced to turn to realities outside the city with a considerable financial commitment.

With this in mind, our goal of satisfying the need for a quality and complete life is also included,guaranteeing the right to each subject to be able to satisfy their own needs in their own territory of birth without need,as in many cases happens, to emigrate from their homeland to satisfy the special needs dictated by their healthy condition.

Our further goal are to provide various socio-health and welfare services linked toghether that the public structures are not always able to guarantee,especially as regards the aspects relating to everyday of people with disabilities,thus guaranteeing the possibility for these subjects to be able to fully live their lives in a dignified and stimulating manner.

Fully working,according to the spaces and buildings available,our project is to create an active protected residence that,through the involvement of guests in various projects and activities,aims to social integration,without neglecting the cultural, recreational and the social tourism aspect.

The socio-rehabilitative, residential, semi-residential and diurnal center will welcome disabled people of any age, whose insertion will take place on an individualized project according to the personal data and the specific needs and conditions, according to the criteria established with the public and according to the procedures adopted by the Cooperative for the involvement and participation of users and operators for quality control.

Through the preparation of adequate structures, he necessary spaces and foyers will be created,both customized for the clients and for their possible relatives,with an special attention to making the reciprocal path of detachment less painful,without neglecting external spaces to be allocated to the personalized activities of the guests.

We also invest in the medical research way to develop better and most effective health solutions

What makes our solution innovative? 4 Main skills

1. INTEGRATED SERVICE: A single entity that responds, through multiple structures, to a multitude of needs, allows the creation of coherent and cohesive assistance programs, each service completes the other and the user will have to address only one subject.

2.AVANT-GARDE: Innovative educational methods, adoption of the latest solutions in the field of healthcare, technological innovation such as robotics thanks to the partnership with University of Messina. Daily programming of various activities that stimulate the guests and aim for social and emotional health. In support of the above, the Project of the Center also provides for the integration of the "After Us" modality already in use in different National realities and the start of the "Children-Elderly" project or more commonly called "Intergenerational Education Path", an innovative pedagogical method where, through the exchange of relationships in targeted activities, both very different age groups manage to exchange skills each other.

3.SOCIAL TOURISM: Facilities also open to tourists who need assistance

4.PRICE: The integrated services allow to contain the costs, this make possible to offer to the peoples an high-quality services with low price.

Technology is essential to think about creating solutions for the health of the peoples, mainly for the treatment of body diseases, disabilities, and assistance to the elderly.
The entire project, in every place, in every country, will be in close contact with local universities and research institutions, why? Because we want our centers to become places where new technologies can taste reality for the first time, offering innovative solutions to guests of our structures, thus guaranteeing direct and reality-based improvement feedback, thus strongly encouraging the development of ever better, more effective and more accessible healthcare technologies.

The problem: The lack of health assistance structures forces to flee from the territory and to a limited life,what does it mean?Significant expenses for travel,difficulty in accessing facilities and personal care and trauma dictated by having to leave their territory.To address different needs, you need to address more specific structures even far apart. 

Our solution: An integrated multipurpose center which,through the recovery of buildings already present in the area in a strategic position with a high envinvorements profile responding to the request for assistance,composed by: Educative Center, Socio-rehabilitative Center for disabled and elderly people,Cultural and recreational center. 

Avant-garde in the sector: Educational farm, inclusive park, children-elderly project, expressive-musical laboratory, applications of the new biomedical and robotic sciences

The Center and its structures will be possible to give a customized solution to the unique needs that a person may need,also guaranteeing the patient's stay in an unique territory,thus reducing the "shock" and stress due to the coming of problems.Our winning point is the offer of integrated physical and psychological care solutions thanks to the structures directly present on the territory,that allow to make really "personal" cares solution based on the needs of every person.

Currently we serve 50 young people thanks to the first project realized by the Melograno, the Fantavolando School, Fantavolando is the first project of the Il Melograno, started in 2016, in 2 years thanks to the innovative educational method (such as the use of the 0-6 system, we’re the first in Sicily to adopt this system ). He is enrolled in the Register of Local Authorities, he is an Equal School by the School Year 18/19 and was the winner of a regional tender thanks to the project “Attraverso I sensi", Fantavolando was the only Educational Center in Messina to be the winner in this tender.

In 1 year from now we expect to serve around 300 peoples thanks to the realization of the recreation center for assistance to disabled people, in addition to the growth of the Fantavolando School by the extension of the structures

In 5 years from now we expect to serve around 3500 peoples thanks to the realization of the Center for assistence to elderly and other centers of various type on the territory.

All estimates are calculated with no prevision of access to acceleration programs and other financial incentives

Start, thanks to an investment of $360.000 (partly covered by national tenders) the Recreation Center by Q1 202, for Q2 2020 we foresee the launch of the Center for Disabled and Elderly for an investment value of $900.000 and the opening of the Residential section by Q3 2020 for an investment of $675.000, the structures, already identified, are just waiting to be "settled"!

During the next 5 years we espect to growing up with the expansion of the integrated structures in the Italian Territory and, make this step sound and profeciently, scale up the model around the world, starting the realization of the integrated centers around the world

The main barriers are of an economic nature, a project of this type involves large investments, mainly in the adaptation of the structures and the purchase of the machinery and goods useful for putting the different centers into operation, despite the project foresees the use of buildings already present in the area in order to redevelop them and reuse them, avoiding new overbuilding, the cost of these works is however substantial.

From the recovery of the buildings already present for the purpose of their redevelopment (thus carrying out the double objective of assistance to the peoples and to the territory) derives also another problem of a legal nature but purely inherent to the Italian bureaucracy, indeed the long times to arrive at transfer of a public building to a private subject and proceed with its restructuring and make in operation of the centers

As regards the obstacles of an economic nature, at present, we expect to overcome them by resorting to bank loans, state subsidies for the granting of low-interest loans, participation in non-repayable financing tenders and acceleration programs. Also including the participation of national and international private lenders.

As regards the obstacles of a bureaucratic nature we plan to resolve them by resorting to the services of administrative lawyers expert in relations with the public administration and project manager.

We currently have:

Full Time staff: 3

Part Time Staff: 5

Volunteers: 4

This is an quick summary of the main figures in the team and his/her skills and experience

Maurizio Andaloro (CEO): Companies's Responsable for UniCredit bank; Economy degree with honneurs, he have experience in the Italian business world and in the No-Profit sector

Antonino Salvo (VicePresident): IT Engineer and Graphic Designer

Saragiosy Andaloro (Educator and company associate): Degree in Educational Science, an talent in Education teaching and infants treatment, the Educational programs of the Fantavolando Center are also write from her

Alfredo Mangano (Administrative Coordinator): Degree in IT, journalist and Commercial Head of an Electric vehicles company, he have most experience in the Social Activism, in the Administration and Project Management

Antonina Sindoni (Psicologist and Coordinator): Psicology Degree, he have many experiences with disadvantaged and weak categories

The Business Model shown here is in a reduced and simplified manner:

1. Customers:The main customers are children (154,451 peoples),disabled peoples (438,491 peoples) and the elderly (840,000 peoples) residing in the Metropolitan City of Messina and Sicily.Non-residents in the Sicilian territory are "second instance" customers,this is necessary in order to identify an initial and better defined audience.

2. Products:Products are intended as assistance,social and residential services offered to customers,in an integrated manner;they are:Day Center,Social-Assistance Center,Psycho-pedagogical Center,Rehabilitation Center,"After us" residence,Nursery School.The winning point of these services is that they are integrated among them,the assistance paths are therefore designed and structured taking into account the presence of all the structures

3. Communication and distribution:Provision of services will start from the making of useful works on the identified buildings,this phase is defined as "inertia" as the project already has its own visibility thanks to the evident works in the area;we then move on to the second phase where,given the services offered to a defined public,all the communication (like social) works will be put in place to bring together demand and supply; the third phase is instead defined as a "stabilization" and this involves the stipulation of
collaboration agreements with public and private entities to which to offer the services made available collaboration agreements with public and private entities to which to offer the services made available by the company

The integrated structures in the territories (in the outskirts of the city like in the city centre) will allow the sell of services at lower prices, since the same services are provided by a single subject (Il Melograno) and the services and expenses are therefore optimized thanks to the unitary management, also thanks to the contributions that the Italian State recognizes in his Social Welfare to disadvantaged people in order to allow them access to health care services, also the lowering of prices will allow access to services by more consumers, moreover the offer of personalized services with specific assistance based on subjective needs will ensure that the services offered will be unique and that therefore the market offer will be difficult to imitate by any competitors. Adding to this, at the moment, there are no integrated medical assistance structures such as those proposed by us, making our care offer unique on the market

To all this we have to add the various State contributions that the Italy provides to the subjects who offer assistance services to the person in order to allow a lowering of the costs of the services for patients, these contributions are paid both directly to the patient and to the health services's provider (based on the number of patients)

Thanks to the generated income we will be able to reinvest in new centers in various territories, and start to make the so-called positioning profits

We want to start the project in the fully way, identify the appropriate partners and have the appropriate training to guarantee an high quality service's management and an high quality of the services itself.

This will be allow us to give our solution to the territory and to the disadvantages categories of peoples.

The Solve competition are, for our, an important opportunity to make this dream possible, in the concrete way.

Heatlh Assistance organization

The prize would be used to finance the start of works on the building destined to become the Social-Rehabilitation Center in Province of Messina, the proceeds from the competition would in fact integrate the loans already in place allowing the execution of the works in quick times, responding to the needs of redevelopment of the territory and the launch of a modern and functional structure, giving full implementation of the Il Melograno's project