THEimmersed in the Romagna countryside, precisely in Castel Bolognese, in the province of Ravenna, for 30 years, stands New House, a welcoming structure especially women and minors, in fragile conditions. From the small apartment, where the founders Novella and Giuliano Scardovi they began to host people who for various reasons knocked on their door, today, Casa Novella has multiple offices in the Faenza area, where it welcomes and supports around 150 people.
The power of social activation
What allowed the expansion of the infrastructure necessary to make reception a sustainable and shared project was a fundraising activity, guided by the consultancy firm ASTOLFI 3.70pm. «More than a simple collection of resources, it was a job aimed at activating and consolidating a network of relationships with a heterogeneous community, made up of citizens, companies and institutions. Fundraising has proven to be a powerful driver of social activation” explains manager Natascia Astolfi.
Casa Novella: a safe haven in which to start over
What distinguishes this reception reality is not the large numbers, but the organization in small groups, accompanied by educators and volunteers to build solid, family bonds that can last over time.
Many people, over the years, have landed at Casa Novella and there they found refuge and new possibilities for rebirth. Like Marina (not her real name), a thirty-year-old who grew up believing she was a mistake.
The rebirth of Marina, victim of abuse
«At 12 years old, while my peers were experiencing their adolescence, I was dragged into “spiritual healing” sessions by a man who had plagiarized my mother. A self-styled spiritual guide who decided who I could associate with, how I should live and, when I turned 18, claimed me as a “disciple”” – this is how the young woman remembers the long years in which she lived in the home of this man – her mother’s companion – suffering his morbid attentions, before everyone’s eyes.
Thus, deprived of the carefreeness of adolescence, she was forced to leave room for solitude and confusion. «Not even my mother rebelled against those abuses that I was forced to suffer. When the harassment also became physical, at 19, I quickly packed a suitcase and, leaving them a letter of apology for having disappointed them, I ran away” he says.
The meeting with another executioner
Unfortunately, however, on her way, Marina met another executioner: a young drug addict who took her with him to an occupied apartment, among drug dealers and degradation.
«He destroyed my self-esteem even more, he told me I was wretched. He trained me to obey and feel guilty, so much so that, when I became pregnant and prevented me from having an abortion by claiming possession of that “blood of his blood”I decided to stay with him anyway” he admits.
The courage to report
Marina found herself trapped in a spiral of violence that repeated exactly what she had escaped from: isolation, control, humiliation. In a moment of clarity, while she was expecting her second child and her torturer partner was in prison, she found the courage to report the abuses to the Carabinieri and was placed in a shelter.
«Unfortunately – he recalls – the system failed. They put me in an isolated apartment, without a human network, with a psychologist who I saw once a month. I was safe physically, but devastated inside. Caught between my mother, who still defended her “spiritual guidance,” and the crushing loneliness, I collapsed. I made the worst decision of my life: I went back to my tormentor. Not out of love, but out of desperation.”
The duty to be a mother, not just a victim
An escalation of violence awaits her again, including against children. «My daughter, at just 4 years old, was being belted for her liveliness» he sighs, recalling the moment in which he felt the duty to put an end to those abuses.
«In front of my little son who had put himself between me and his father’s fury to defend me, I understood that I could no longer be just a victim, I had to be a mother» he confides. From that day it began the rebirth of Marina, thanks to the meeting with a social worker who did not see in her one of the many cases to be treated, but a person.
The landing at Casa Novella
«I entered a different structure: a real home, with educators who became sisters and mothers. There, for the first time, someone asked me how I was, really waiting for the answer» this is how he describes Casa Novella.
She arrived under protection, scared of what might await her. Instead, FrFor the first time, she felt understood and welcomed. «The operators gave me time to open up, get to know myself and realize everything that had happened to me. They were present, but never pressing or oppressive” he specifies.
The rebirth of Marina
Marina lived, from 2020 to 2023, within the walls of the reception facility, where he discovered that you can feel at home even in a place where there are no family members, but only strangers. «For the first time, I felt warmth and security, in a place where I could exist, without having to please anyone anymore. I discovered who I am and what I really want, building bonds of sincere friendship” he says.
Today, the young woman has regained her dignity, thanks to Casa Novella she found a job and a home, where she lives with her current husband and her children, finally peaceful.
A future dedicated to humanity
She has not forgotten those who reached out to her in the most difficult moments: in fact, she is developing a project in collaboration with Casa Novella, making her experience available which can be an example and help for many other women.
«If I look back – she comments – I see a dark past, full of mistakes and horrors, which, however, brought me to where I am now, with the awareness that dignity is never truly lost: it can be stolen, but it can be regained. Today I walk with my head held high, with the certainty that my children saved my life, but the humanity of those who welcomed me taught me how to live it.”