An estimated 300 people are homeless, meaning that they are sleeping in the rough, in unsafe housing or in cars, Roberta Sammut, the dean of the faculty of health sciences at the University of Malta, said in a conference titled ‘Homelessness: The Hidden Scandal’.

The conference, which was organised by the University of Malta faculty of health sciences, the faculty of social wellbeing and YMCA and which saw 120 delegates from a number of fields, aimed to create a discussion surrounding the topic of homelessness, which is in many senses hidden from the public eye.  Sammut said that they had termed this topic as a “scandal” because it is an issue that puts all of us to shame, and said that it was society’s duty to acknowledge and deal with the reality of homelessness.

Andrew Azzopardi, the dean of the faculty for social wellbeing, said that while there had been progress in terms of social housing and help with dealing with property, one cannot ignore the issues which are present and which need to be challenged. “We need to create a discomfort that will not only lead to discussion, but also to action”, Azzopardi said.  Quoting the late Charles Miceli, Azzopardi said that it was up to them to rock the boat but with the key intent of bringing about positive change.

Anthony Camilleri, the CEO and National General Secretary of YMCA Valletta, said that today there was still no legal definition of homelessness, and that Malta’s laws do not favour the vulnerable  He said that to them, homelessness does not pertain just to the roofless, but also to those who are sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings and inadequate housing.  He added that there is also a new phenomenon to look at; the working homeless.  He said that the aim of the YMCA was not to build another homeless shelter, but to eradicate homelessness entirely.

Various tributes were paid to the late Charles Miceli, who passed away suddenly last March aged 68, with Caritas’ director Anthony Gatt leading the testimonials.  Gatt said that Miceli was relentless in his work for the poor, and said that he had the ability to get into the shoes of the person in front of him and identify with them.  He described Miceli as a ray of hope both for staff working in this sector and for those going through tough times in shelters across the island.

The conference had two key note speeches and a number of workshops.  Ann Marie Cutajar, who gave a talk on the socio-economic issues on the current state of homelessness, said that the definition of homelessness various according to the people defining it, and sounded a warning on having a too narrow definition of the concept.

She said that a substantial proportion of the homeless population is not accessible to researchers – normally by choice – so it is difficult to quantify this population.  However, Cutajar said, the YMCA receive an average of 191 homeless cases, whilst there was another claim that there are 2,000 people living in garages.  Data on the part of authorities is lacking; a recent report which said that there were 27 cases of reported homelessness in the rough was only the tip of the iceberg and reported just instances of people found sleeping in the rough.

The main elements that can increase the risk of homelessness, Cutajar said, can be unhealthy or dysfunctional relationships, loss of parents, past imprisonment, substance addiction, or unemployment amongst others.  Family forms a major support structure to people and the lack of this causes a risk of homelessness, she said.

She added that the current situation with regards to the rental market does not help at all either, saying that landlords have discriminated against certain demographics such as migrants, former convicts, and those suffering from mental health issues – placing such groups at a higher risk of homelessness.

A homeless person needs more than just a roof over their heads, Cutajar said; access to social support is instrumental for those striving to find employment or housing, as is the provision of training services.  It is important to have educational programmes addressing issues such as job development, financial planning, diversity, and developing cultural connections as this would help a homeless person engage in employment and, hopefully, move out of a homeless situation. 

The state has an obligation to prevent homelessness, Cutajar said, and specific assistance to persons going through domestic violence situations should also be given. All in all, Cutajar said, the first step must be to identify that there are people in this situation; only after acknowledging and knowing the full extent of the problem can it be dealt with.

Paulann Grech meanwhile addressed the reciprocal link between mental health and homelessness, saying that just because the situation isn’t as visible as in major cities across Europe, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.  In fact she cited a 2006 study which described homelessness as Malta’s “best-kept growing secret”, before noting recent cases of when 120 migrants were found living in a farm in the limts of Mriehel, and when a homeless Somali was found dead under a bridge in Marsa.

 Grech said homelessness was also a psychological state which is more compounded by being invisible to others.  She noted that the best way to hurt a person is not to shout at them, but to ignore them, and that this feeling of being ignored could lead to other factors such as anger, anxiety, inability to sleep, depression, and substance misuse, which could all lead to clinical mental health issues. 

On what can be done, Grech said that the needs of people experiencing homelessness and mental illness are not dissimilar to those of other types of homeless people; they need affordable housing, affordable medical care and improvement to their general physical state.  It is useless addressing a person’s mental state before their physical state, she said.  Furthermore, awareness on the issue had to be raised to remove the invisibility of homelessness, and the human stories behind those who are homeless need to be exposed as well so that people actually appreciate the story behind the person and not see them merely as a number.