Over 5,000 people a month in Italy seek help from the Catholic relief organization Caritas because they are poor, according to a report presented by the group on Monday.
Based on the period between April and September of last year, the Caritas report said it had received 30,453 requests for help at its network of 264 centers located in 134 dioceses nationwide.
In two out of three cases the requests came from foreigners, most of whom were from Eastern Europe or Africa and had residency permits.
While the majority of those seeking help in northern and central Italy were foreigners, in southern Italy they were Italians, Caritas said.
The majority of Italians seeking help from Caritas had family-related problems deriving from divorces or separations.
Two-thirds of those needing help from Caritas were unemployed, a condition affecting 71.5% of the foreigners and 57.6% of the Italians.
