Pandemic exposes the vulnerability of Italy's 'new poor'

A homeless prepares to eat a free meal received from Progetto Arca Onlus inside a makeshift cardboard pallet in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A homeless prepares himself for the night in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People queue for food at the 'Pane Quotidiano' (Daily Bread) Onlus, in Milan, northern Italy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Maurizio Perrone, left, receives a free meal from volunteer Mouhib Abdelilah, at the Progetto Arca food truck in downtown Milan, northern Italy Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Progetto Arca Onlus' nurse Clelia, visits the homeless who have set up tents for the night under an arcade in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A homeless sleeps on the floor next to Christmas decoration outside a restaurant in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Maurizio Perrone, center, stands in the line for food at the 'Pane Quotidiano'(Daily Bread) Onlus, in Milan, northern Italy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People queue for food at the 'Pane Quotidiano' (Daily Bread) Onlus, in Milan, northern Italy, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A woman shows a free meal just distributed at the Progetto Arca Onlus food truck in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A homeless talks from inside his tent to a volunteer of the Progetto Arca Onlus during the distribution of free meals in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

An homeless eats his free meal he received from a volunteer of the Progetto Arca Onlus in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A homeless sleeps on the floor in front of a fashion store in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A couple kiss each other after receiving free meals at the Progetto Arca Onlus food truck in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Homeless sleep on the floor of an arcade in downtown Milan, Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Clelia, a volunteer nurse of the Progetto Arca Onlus, checks the body temperature of people waiting for a free meal at the Progetto Arca food truc in downtown Milan, northern Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People queue for free meal at the Progetto Arca food truck in downtown Milan, Italy, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Giovanni Petazzi stands with his trolley as he queues for a free meal at the Progetto Arca food truck in downtown Milan, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. Nowhere in Italy is poverty more evident than in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the pandemic epicenter in both surges. The Coldiretti agriculture lobby estimates that the virus has created 300,000 so-called "new poor,'' based on surveys of the dozens of charity associations operating in the region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Elena Simone prepares an herbal tea in her kitchen during an interview with The Associated Press at her house in Novate Milanese, Italy, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Simone is typical of the so-called "new poor," who stayed hidden from the system despite having their economic stability weakened in the 2008 financial crisis, getting by on informal, gray-market jobs and the help of friends and family. But Italy's strict 10-week lockdown this spring as coronavirus surged, followed by renewed restrictions in the fall, that scale to which these cobbled-together livings have now collapsed. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)