The relationship between Keep Out and Vitas, a local secular volunteer organization active in the district of Casale since 1996, is mainly due to territorial affinity. Casale Monferrato, the hometown of Keep Out, was once the capital of Eternit fibre cement: this industrial plant has caused the spread of pleural mesothelioma, a form of malignant lung cancer resulting from direct, and even indirect, exposure to asbestos dust.

Many people from Casale have worked with this mineral and inhaled its dust, which can cause symptoms even decades after exposure: the Eternit plant in Casale Monferrato closed down at the end of the 80s, yet mesothelioma continues to claim victims. It is a merciless cancer, with a grim prognosis.

Vitas assists both incurable and terminally ill patients at home and in hospice*: it provides this service free of charge, through a network of professionals and volunteers. At the same time, Vitas takes care of the families of the patients, providing them with psychological support and promoting the culture of palliative care, while respecting the dignity and autonomy of the patient.

The goal of palliative care is to save incurable patients from sufferance and loneliness, two aggravating conditions of an already very difficult situation. Inspired by this spirit, Vitas and its team of volunteers have assisted over 10,000 families since its founding in 1996.

Keep Out and Vitas For years, Keep Out has been allocating €1 to Vitas for every jewel sold online: these funds are used to guarantee the transport of incurable patients from their home to hospital facilities, so that they can access palliative care. To learn more about Vitas, visit their website.

*Hospices are departments specialized in pain therapy: in such places, through professional care and human support, they try to improve the last phase of terminal patients’ life.