Laps Foundation invests one million for a safe house in Novara

The Laps Foundation, founded and chaired by Lapo Elkann, will redevelop a municipal property, transforming it into a protected reception facility intended for people in conditions of serious vulnerability, with particular attention to women victims of violence and their children. The intervention involves an investment of up to one million euros, entirely paid by the Foundation, which will finance the renovation, energy efficiency and furnishing of the spaces, without direct costs to the municipal budget. The property will maintain social use for at least fifteen years.

"This project allows us not only to redevelop a public property, but to give a structured and timely response to this type of emergency, offering a safe refuge and paths to autonomy for women victims of violence and their children", explains the mayor of Novara, Alessandro Canelli.

The project, approved by the Novara Council, was also followed by the Region from the beginning. "A place that today belongs to the public heritage will become a space of protection, welcome and rebirth for women and children who have experienced situations of violence and fragility", say the president Alberto Cirio and the councilor for Equal Opportunities Marina Chiarelli. The Region also recalls the investments already started to combat gender violence: 5 million euros of state funding, intended for anti-violence centres, shelters and pathways to living and working autonomy. Added to these resources are approximately 2 million euros for new services and structures, with tenders expected at the beginning of 2027.

"With the Laps Foundation we want to do our part, creating a space that can represent a new beginning for women and children who have experienced situations of violence", explain Lapo Elkann and his wife Joana Lemos Elkann, vice president of the Foundation. "We are particularly happy that the first Casa Laps in Italy will take shape in Novara, Piedmont."