BarBIP, the new place in Milan where young people with disabilities work: here the coffee smells of inclusion

At first glance it might seem like a bar like any other. You can stop for a coffee, a breakfast or an aperitif. But behind the counter of BarBIP, in via Solari 22 in Milan, there is much more: a project that offers job opportunities to girls and boys with disabilities, transforming inclusion and autonomy into concrete experiences.

Born from an initiative of the BIP Group Social Cooperative, a non-profit Third Sector organisation, the venue represents a model that puts people and their abilities at the centre. The objective is not to assist, but to enhance everyone’s talents and skills, instead of dwelling on what are perceived as limits in our society.

Beyond stereotypes and labels

The idea behind the project is to put people at the centre, preventing them from being identified through a condition or label. – explains Alessandro Luciani, operations manager of Bar Bip – The guys who work in the place are first of all individuals with a name, a history and skills to be valorised. For this reason they carry out activities in direct contact with the public and take on real responsibilities, while the volunteers have a supporting role. The ambition is to build an increasingly autonomous and inclusive context, capable of overcoming stereotypes linked to disability.”

But there is also another extraordinary aspect. The activity of this bar, which is located near the well-known Don Luigi Giussani Park, follows a completely non-profit model: this means that no profit is distributed to members and all proceeds are reinvested in social activities, in the development of BarBIP and in various charitable initiatives.

BarBIP is a courageous bet, but above all a strong signal that reminds us that we all have the right to be an active part of society.

For me it all started when I was just over 18. – says Roberto D’Ambrosio, President of the Bip Group Social Cooperative – More than forty years ago I met, thanks to the then parish priest of the oratory, a boy with a disability and that meeting profoundly changed the course of my life. From that experience the Bip Group was born, which has always taken care of the free time of our users. Over the years, the desire to create concrete job opportunities for our disabled children has emerged. Seeing realities capable of promoting work inclusion being born in Milan, I thought we could do something similar too: a project rooted in the parish, but open to the neighborhood and the city.

The path that led to the birth of the BarBIP (project co-financed by the EU under the Metro Plus and Southern Medium Cities National Program 2021-2027) was anything but simple and linear, in particular due to the bureaucratic issues and the necessary financial resources. Subsequently we concentrated on the work on the premises and on the training of the children involved. Today this place finally represents a space for meeting and sharing that the community has long felt was necessary.” clarifies Ambra Trussardi, founding member of the Cooperativa Sociale Gruppo Bip.

In a country where autonomy and access to work remains in most cases a utopia for people with disabilities, experiences like this demonstrate that another path is possible (and necessary). And that the benefits do not only concern those who finally find a professional opportunity, but the entire community.