Mental Health: Milano establishes a new alliance
3 ottobre 2025
From combating stigma to building communities that foster connections, proximity, and opportunities, Milano4MentalHealth represents the City of Milan’s investment in a new urban model of mental health. Francesco Caroli explains how knowledge, local collaboration, and concrete initiatives can transform the city into an ecosystem that actively practices wellbeing every day.
What is Milano4MentalHealth and why was it created?
Milano4MentalHealth was born from the belief that mental health is a collective responsibility and an urban issue, not just a medical one. The project is promoted by the City of Milan under the guidance of the Welfare and Health Councillor Lamberto Bertolé, with the goal of bringing mental health out of clinics and into people’s everyday lives. The idea is to build a city that recognizes the value of relationships, proximity, and culture as key determinants of wellbeing. It is not a campaign, but a civic infrastructure: a space where services, associations, professionals, citizens, and businesses collaborate to reduce stigma, loneliness, and inequality.
«Mental health is not just a healthcare issue: it is a collective responsibility and an urban matter. With Milano4MentalHealth, we want to bring it out of clinics and into the everyday life of the city»
Francesco Caroli
Member of the Mayor of Milan’s staff, coordinator of the Italian Healthy Cities Network – WHO
What concrete actions is Milano4MentalHealth taking?
We work on three fronts. The first is knowledge, through events, meetings, educational materials, and initiatives that make often complex topics—such as stress, adolescence, loneliness, and prevention—easier to understand.
The second is community and collaboration, because neighborhoods, community centers, sports, schools, and cultural spaces are where wellbeing is truly built. Here, the City is consolidating a method based on co-design, territorial networks, and partnerships with universities and the third sector to experiment with new ways to meet people’s needs.
The third is concrete action: with over 4 million euros invested over three years, the City supports projects focused on housing, employment, severe marginalization, and guidance for individuals and families. Milano4MentalHealth aims to be a city that doesn’t just talk about mental health, but practices it consistently and daily, together with its people.