Mayor Ponti, vice mayor Branchini and director Romanens explain the importance of the institute, which has been accommodating people with disabilities since 1975, and talk about the collaboration projects with the municipality

With some forty guests suffering from medium to severe disabilities and over one hundred employees, the Miralago Institute is one of the pieces that make Brissago unique in the Ticino in the social-sanitary field. Every municipality has its own home for the elderly, some host clinics and care facilities, but probably no one has a mosaic as multifaceted as Brissago's, formed not only by Casa San Giorgio, but also by the La Motta Institute, the Hildebrand Clinic and, indeed, the Miralago Institute.

Mayor Ponti: "The importance of the Foundations"

A point emphasised by the mayor, Roberto Ponti, who recently joined the Rinaldi Foundation, chaired by Diego Erba, of which the Miralago is an emanation. "It is a source of pride," he emphasises, "to be able to host high quality facilities in our municipality that operate in the health and social spheres. In addition to playing an important care and nursing role, these institutions offer skilled jobs and perform a fundamental public service within the cantonal social and health network. And this, thanks to those who, in the past, decided to donate capital for their creation'.

The mayor therefore highlights the importance of foundations, such as the one set up in 1962 by Felice and Esterina Rinaldi in memory of their parents, Ireneo and Giovanna, with the aim of creating "a home for the care and education of children suffering from cerebral palsy and handicaps, with special attention to children from needy families".

The history of the Miralago

The Miralago Institute began its activities in 1975, taking in the first boarders, children for whom a protected, multidisciplinary facility was needed. About ten years later, the building was constructed, which today comprises five flats where users meet as a family unit, two swimming pools (one recreational and one therapeutic), a multi-purpose room - for gymnastics, games, parties and meetings with families - the infirmary and the administrative offices with the management.

In the following years, the institute was further expanded with the occupational building, work and activity spaces for users, and in 2022 the new Piazzetta building will be built to accommodate ten additional beds - accompanying users in the natural course of their lives, from childhood to adulthood, progressively changing its educational and accompanying approach -.

Director Romanens: "We want to be a home"

"Miralago," explains director Anna Romanens, who on 1 December, after four years, will leave her post to Jimmy Storni to direct the Istituto Provvida Madre in Balerna, "wants to be a home in which the guests live and grow old. Some guests arrived in the 1970s, when the Miralago opened its doors, and are still here today. The youngest user is 23 years old, the oldest guest is almost 80. In short, there is a meeting between the various generations that is a very enriching exchange. But it also requires us to manage older guests, who develop age-related illnesses and health needs. The guests living at Miralago will not be transferred to the old people's home, they will remain at the institute. Our mission is to guarantee the highest quality of life and dignity in all moments of life, from youth to old age until the last breath".

The Vice Mayor Branchini: "The collaboration between the Institute and the Municipality".

Vice Mayor Fabio Branchini, head of the Social Affairs Department, emphasises the excellent relations between Miralago and the municipality: "It is certainly also positive from an economic and employment point of view to have a facility of this kind in Brissago," he says. "Our municipality has a high concentration of institutes that not only employ hundreds of people but also feed local commerce and that in neighbouring municipalities. But that's not all: in cooperation with my colleague Veronica Marcacci Rossi, we are refining the agreement with Miralago for the use of outdoor spaces and the Solarium by the primary school students. We will also be able to use the Snoezelen room, the multi-sensory room. If you visit the Institute's website, you can see what it is all about. I am sure that it will be enriching for our children to engage with those who have been less fortunate than them in life. A further collaboration has recently been put in place with the help of the nursing staff, whom we cannot thank enough, and that is to allow the Miralago guests to carry out some simple administrative tasks on behalf of the municipality, such as enveloping material for the population. Seeing their commitment and their smiles, when you pass by to greet them, fills your heart".

Branchini takes the opportunity to thank the Board of Trustees, hoping for further cooperation, and the director, who, as mentioned, will soon be handing over her post to Jimmy Storni.

The director: "Our mission is above all educational"

Anna Romanens trained in curative pedagogy in French-speaking Switzerland and also has experience abroad, including four years in Nicaragua in international cooperation. She explains that Miralago caters for a clientele close to that of the Motta, an institute with which she happily collaborates, as with all the facilities in Brissago (the Hildebrand Clinic and the Casa San Giorgio). The collaboration and comparison with Brissago's socio-medical facilities is highly enriching and truly functional.

"Our mission," he says, "is not limited to care, but is above all educational: in this sense, there is an annual programme of activities ranging from bike rides on the Piano di Magadino, to various workshops such as home economics, decoration, calumets and many others.  Since this year, the Miralago also helps to envelop some communications for the citizens of Brissago; some users go to the chancellery and carry out this task with great pleasure. In the flats, on the other hand, users learn to share daily life with their peers while developing their autonomy. In addition, the institute will have the opportunity to hear the voices of Brissago's primary school pupils because it will host the school in the woods. This is an opportunity to network with the local area, to get closer to the reality of Brissago and to share spaces that are little used by our users. We can't wait for this project to begin".

For the smooth running of the Institute, the director concludes, "we can count on a real team made up of multiple professional figures such as educators, social workers, nurses, a doctor, care assistants, therapists (occupational therapy and physiotherapy) who devote themselves to the users every day, 365 days a year; not forgetting the support teams such as the general services staff (cleaning, laundry, kitchen, maintenance and transport) and the administrative staff. The Miralago Institute is also a training company and every year welcomes students, apprentices and young trainees for the therapeutic and educational, social sphere'.