ROME (Reuters) - Italy's first "shelter" for divorced dads will open in the northern city of Bolzano on Saturday as fathers step up the fight for their rights in a country long dominated by the Italian "mamma."
Divorced and separated men who have been forced to give up their houses and empty their pockets for child support can apply for one of the five rooms with private bath in the communal home which could soon be copied across Italy.
"We've been working with couples for 20 years and we realized there was a real need for the party who has left the family home and can't afford their own house," said Elio Cirimbelli, president of ASDI, an association that counsels couples in crisis and created the Bolzano pilot project.
"And in the vast number of cases that party is the father."
The "shelter," which has been partly funded by the provincial government, will be open to fathers who take home less than 650 euros ($867) every month after payments to their estranged families. They will pay 200 euros rent.
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