Hello everyone! I’m Lazzarotto Martina, and I’ve been living my volunteer experience at the Welcome Home in Santiago, Chile for a year now, and I’d like to tell you, in a nutshell, about everything that’s going on here, “on the other side of the world.”

This House of Shelter has a very long history indeed, and as we can well imagine it has gone through several stages: for years it took in men in fragile situations; then women with children; until the time when, 25 years ago, those who ran the house decided to take in only women, who were coming to Chile to find work.

The basic principles, however, have never changed, namely: openness, listening and welcoming to migrant people who are in a vulnerable situation.

As I said, the various stages that the Welcome House has gone through have been marked by the different needs, on a socio-cultural level, that arose as a result of the various migratory flows that Chile has always been a protagonist of.

I say all this simply because here, in Santiago, Chile, we are going through just such a moment: very delicate and important at the same time.

After 25 years, in which housing has played an important and fundamental role for so many people, there is a realization that the needs of the migrant community in Chile has changed greatly.

Until January 2025, in fact, the house welcomed migrant women, aged 18 to 65, of any nationality, offering them a safe space to stay. I’m talking about women who have lived in Chile for quite some time: obviously each situation is unique, some have lived here for a few years, some for 10 years, or even some have lived here for 20 years or more.

These women(about whom I wrote some time ago) had taken this House of Reception as their point of reference as it was “their home.” A nice relationship had been established between them and the “hermana Ofelia,” the lady who managed the running of the house itself. So you can well imagine how difficult it was for them to accept the idea that they could no longer count on this place as a reference point.

It should be pointed out that this does not imply that these people no longer need this space, but they certainly enjoy such stability (first of all, they are in possession of the “Carnet Chileno,” which is that document that allows them to work legally in Chile) that allows them to explore different solutions to readjust and identify other places where they can reside.

To be sure, the one made was not an easy choice, however, as time went on it became more and more necessary. The considerable increase in the number of migrants arriving and currently arriving in Chile over the past six years is due to factors such as political and economic crises in neighboring countries, the search for better job opportunities, and the perception of Chile as a stable country.

All this, precisely, requires constant adaptation and the building of policies that promote integration, social justice and human dignity for all.

By saying “everyone,” I am referring to all those people who travel, leave their countries, leave all their security, their affections, in order to seek something better, a future, a chance. And they often do so hoping that “on the other side” there may be someone who will support them, because they often travel without money, without knowing in what conditions they will arrive, and without knowing the context in which they will have to fit in, so much so that when they arrive in Chile most of the time they have to confront a reality that is never as simple as it seems.

Here, then, is how the House of Reception is trying to change, to adapt to the times: opening its doors to all those people who, having recently arrived in Chile, do not have a safe space to stay; who would find themselves forced to live on the streets, with the risk of running into dangerous and unsafe situations. With the goal of supporting migrant people in laying the foundation to build the dignified life they seek and deserve.

It will not be easy. Practitioners working in the House are already facing so many challenges: some more addressable, others much more difficult; but all always and certainly with the intention of being supportive of other people.

At the same time, it will also be very exciting because it is a task that requires adaptability, strength to put yourself out there, dedication and even a bit of imagination (working with people always takes a bit of that).

It is a gamble, one that everyone is striving to be able to win, with the prize of knowing that they have given everyone a chance.

I conclude with a thought related to how I have experienced and am experiencing this change.

There is no denying how difficult it was at first. When I learned what situations I would have to face I felt a strong desire to return home, to my quiet little town. But then I began to realize that all of this would only be enriching for me. The fact that I could meet new people, with different stories, with completely different habits and forms of being.

What’s more, I was grateful that I was able to accompany “my ladies” in the process of detachment from this House, which is also mine a bit, and which was also theirs.

Together we talked a lot, I listened to their fears, tried to calm them down, but most of all I committed myself to BE. With all of myself. To BE and live through this moment that they surely experience now as hard and almost insurmountable, but which they will one day see with different eyes. At the end of the day, a big change is always scary, but if we look back all the big changes in life have been a push to be able to improve.

And here I am, still a little afraid, but very grateful for what I am facing, continuing this adventure.

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