BOLT
Luigi, 22, who has Down syndrome and severe walking difficulties, cannot leave his IACP residence. His mother: "We're asking for an elevator from 2022, only silence and buck-passing." Representative Borrelli announces immediate action.
Pomigliano – Architectural barriers aren't just physical obstacles: they are invisible walls that isolate, deny rights, and diminish the quality of life of thousands of people. In Campania, where social fragility often clashes with administrative slowness and blurred responsibilities, there's a story that dramatically encapsulates the failure of an entire system.
It happened in Pomigliano d'Arco, in the province of Naples. Here, Luigi, 22, with Down syndrome and recovering from a very delicate occipitocervical stabilization surgery, hasn't set foot outside his home for over four years. He lives on the third floor of an IACP building at Via Giuseppe Campanale 9, a building without an elevator. And his physical condition, documented by medical records and X-rays, makes it impossible to climb stairs.
For him, every outing – a doctor's visit, therapy, even a walk – has become a forbidden undertaking.
The mother, who has been battling a seemingly impervious bureaucracy for three years, speaks of the absurdity of this situation. Since 2022, she has written to everyone: the Municipality of Pomigliano d'Arco, ACER Campania (formerly IACP), the Region, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ombudsman, and the Ombudsman for the Disabled. It's been a grueling journey of protocols, certified emails, and endless waits.
The answer? None. Just a passing of the buck, broken promises, and an institutional silence that sounds like abandonment. The only concrete signal came from the European Community, which announced the initiation of formal procedures due to the inaction of the institutions involved.
"It's not a complicated request: I just want my son to be given back the freedom he deserves," the woman says. "I'm asking for a timetable for the work or, alternatively, accessible housing. But we can't wait any longer."
Faced with an unacceptable stalemate, the family turned to MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli (Green-Left Alliance), asking him to use his institutional voice to break the buck-passing between institutions and force ACER Campania to make a definitive decision.
The appeal specifically concerns the Regional Director of ACER, who is being asked for a formal response and an immediate meeting to establish a firm timeline for installing an elevator or, alternatively, assigning an accessible apartment.
Informed of the matter, Borrelli speaks bluntly:
This story is a punch in the gut. It's unacceptable that in 2025, a young person with a disability is forced into isolation because of bureaucracy. I will immediately take action with ACER, the City Council, and the Region. Luigi's dignity is non-negotiable. Enough with the buck-passing: we demand answers, clear deadlines, and a concrete solution.
Luigi's story is just one of many across the country, but it represents the starkest image of a right denied. And it raises an inevitable question: how much longer must a family wait to see what the law and common sense already guarantee recognized?
In a self-proclaimedly civilized Italy, the answer should be simple: no one, ever again.
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