Coop. Soc. Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII

Its activities range from managing therapeutic communities and prevention programmes to providing family support, social reintegration pathways, and educational initiatives for vulnerable groups.

Operating through a network of 22 therapeutic communities across Italy, particularly in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto, and Piedmont, the cooperative has developed extensive experience in working with young people facing complex social, emotional, and educational challenges.

Its interventions aim to strengthen personal wellbeing, social inclusion, and opportunities for long-term development.

Main areas of intervention include:

• addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery;

• educational support for vulnerable young people;

• social reintegration programmes;

• family and community support services;

• promotion of wellbeing and emotional health;

• prevention of school dropout and social exclusion.

The initiative targeted students aged 11 to 19 who were at risk of dropping out due to personal, social, emotional, behavioural, or addiction-related challenges.

The programme was implemented across five schools located in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto, and Sicily, focusing on contexts where educational fragility often manifests through low motivation, socio-emotional difficulties, absenteeism, poor academic performance, and disengagement from school life.

SOS No One Out adopted a multi-level and systemic approach that combined:

• emotional intelligence and life-skills workshops;

• educational and career guidance pathways;

• personalised mentoring programmes;

• support and counselling for teachers;

• mutual-learning seminars for school leaders;

• counselling and training opportunities for parents;

• educational alternatives for students at risk of suspension.

The programme addressed school dropout not only as formal school leaving but also as a broader process of disengagement, characterised by emotional distress, declining motivation, weak school attachment, and social isolation.

Key Results

The programme achieved its overall objective of strengthening protective factors against school dropout and supporting vulnerable students through an integrated educational community approach. In all participating schools where data were available, the reported dropout rate remained at 0% during the implementation period.

Quantitative results:

• 668 students participated in educational and career guidance workshops.

• 158 students benefited from personalised mentoring and individual support programmes, exceeding the original target of 120 students.

• 1,141 students took part in emotional intelligence and socio-emotional learning activities.

• 127 teachers participated in counselling, case discussions, training activities, and professional development initiatives.

• 37 teachers attended the online training programme “IN-FORMIAMOCI”, with 100% of participants rating the content and trainers as highly useful and effective.

• 43 parents accessed individual counselling services, while 89 parents participated in mutual-support and training groups, exceeding the target of 50 participants.

• 4 mutual-learning seminars were organised for school leaders, fully achieving programme targets.

Qualitative results:

• Students reported increased self-awareness, emotional literacy, self-confidence, empathy, cooperation, and ability to ask for help when facing difficulties.

• Mentoring proved particularly effective in supporting highly vulnerable students, helping them remain engaged in education while strengthening motivation, organisational skills, self-esteem, and future planning.

• Participating schools improved their capacity to identify early warning signs of educational vulnerability and intervene before disengagement evolved into school dropout.

• Teachers reported enhanced understanding of adolescent wellbeing, emotional distress, classroom dynamics, and strategies for supporting at-risk students.

• Parents who engaged in the programme developed greater awareness of adolescent challenges and improved communication strategies within the family environment.

• The programme strengthened collaboration among schools, families, educational professionals, and local services, creating more coordinated responses to student vulnerability.