Casa Marzia, where families can find hope again

A comforting and safe space in a quiet part of Rome surrounded by greenery. Above all, it’s a place of hope and rebirth that will house up to six mothers and fourteen children in a protected environment where teachers and social workers can support their guests in overcoming particularly challenging circumstances and help them rebuild their lives on solid foundations. It’s Casa Marzia, the residential community for single-parent families experiencing hardship, which Fondazione Arché inaugurated on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at Municipio III in the Città Giardino Aniene neighborhood in Rome. We supported the project, contributing to installing the new electrical system during the renovation and adaptation work of the building, which was made available by the nuns of the order of the Suore Francescane Missionarie del Bambin Gesù. Looking to the future Casa Marzia was created to allow single mothers and their children experiencing hardship to spend a period of time in a safe environment before re-entering society. The house features six bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, common areas and a garden. “It’s more than a home, it’s a place of hope and redemption,” emphasized Giuseppe Bettoni, founder and director of Fondazione Arché. “It’s a place where hope has made itself at home. Mothers, in fact, will be able to rebuild their relationship with their children and look to the future with serenity and confidence. We strongly believe in a model that is open to everyone in the local area and capable of fostering these mothers’ relationships.” Giuseppe Bettoni, founder and director of Fondazione Arché After achieving full autonomy, continues Father Bettoni, “when they return to their daily lives, they’ll build a different future for themselves and their children. It’s important to take them in during a time of trauma, during an emergency; but then, once a relationship of therapeutic alliance, of mutual trust and support that will help them get back on their feet, is established, it becomes necessary to look to the future: work, housing, and local networks are fundamental so that they don’t fall on hard times again.” Following the model of CasArché in Milan, the structure inaugurated in Rome won’t just house Casa Marzia’s community of mothers and children: it will also feature three semi-independent apartments, as well as Arché’s offices and a multi-purpose room. Every guest – child or adult – will benefit from personalized care and support by staff who are available 24 hours a day, as well as psychologists and social workers. “The main objective of this project is to protect the relationship between mother and child and to accompany these families along a path to autonomy,” explained Dalila Melissari, Director of Casa Marzia. “Every family’s problems are different, but our underlying philosophy is always the same: we offer a service to mothers and children that is tailored to their needs.” Dalila Melissari, Director of Casa Marzia The goal for children is, first of all, to have a place where they can experience a functional relationship with adults. Meanwhile, mothers can benefit from parental support, psychological assistance, and they can follow training courses and rehabilitation programs to re-enter society and the workforce. Ongoing collaboration This is not the first time that we’ve collaborated in the implementation of projects by Fondazione Arché, the charitable association founded by Father Giuseppe Bettoni in 1991. Our first encounter was in 2016, when we supported CasArché in Milan’s Quarto Oggiaro neighborhood, and then again in 2018 with the creation of a social housing community building called Corte di Quarto. With the opening of Casa Marzia in Rome, our commitment to protecting and supporting mothers and children on their road to social reintegration continues, emphasized Filippo Rodriguez, Managing Director of Enel Cuore, our Group’s charitable organization. “There are many reasons why we are proud to support Casa Marzia. On the one hand, the inauguration of this structure is an important part of the fruitful collaboration we’ve been engaged in with Fondazione Arché since 2016 on issues that are very important to us: in particular, protecting children, single-parent families, and women who are victims of violence. Moreover, this is a much-needed project, especially during these times of the pandemic: unfortunately, among other things, it has exacerbated the social emergency of which women and children are the main victims.” “It’s crucial for us to be here because we feel as a Group the responsibility of responding concretely, going beyond our business responsibility.” Filippo Rodriguez, Managing Director of Enel CuoreA sane insanity Words like hope, redemption, and rebuilding resounded frequently during the inauguration ceremony, while the smiling faces of workers and volunteers clearly conveyed the ideals that will enliven Casa Marzia in the coming years, guided by the confidence expressed by Father Bettoni. “You have to be a little bit crazy to start a project like this these days; but the support of our many friends, the strength that comes from responding to the overwhelming need for shelter that emerges from the current social situation, give us the energy we need to keep going and to open a welcoming home.” It was no coincidence that the ribbon cutting ceremony was entrusted to a pair of special people: one of Arché’s social workers, Chiara Giorno, holding her son in her arms, almost a symbol of the many mother-and-child families that will be able to build a better future for themselves thanks in part to our support.

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Casa Marzia, where families can find hope again

Casa Marzia, where families can find hope again

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