The HA says housing plays a key role in the well-being of people in society. “The majority of people want to live in their own home for as long as possible. However, as time goes by their home may no longer be suitable and it may become a barrier and hinder a person’s ability to live independently,” say the HA. The Care and Repair project offers assistance to these people in order to make their homes safer and better suited to their needs.

The scheme targets individuals who are the most vulnerable in Maltese society. The primary users of this service are those on low income, older people living on their own, single mothers, other client groups with social problems and those living in properties which are in a poor state of repair.

Another aim of the HA is to improve the housing conditions of those who do not have the financial resources to do so themselves nor the necessary determination or skills to apply through schemes.

Methodology

A HA study commissioned to establish the effectiveness of the scheme asked the research questions:

What is the profile of the applicants requesting the care and repair service?

Ways of improving the care and repair service?

Difficulties encountered during the care and repair process?

Are the beneficiaries satisfied with the way the service was delivered to them?

Number of applications

The care and repair service was launched in May 2002. A total of 308 applications had been considered by January 2004, of which 77 have been processed through care and repair, whilst 231 cases have been referred to schemes or others.

Localities

The majority of the applications are from the Grand Harbour Area (42 per cent of the applications), in particular Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Valletta. The Central Malta Area had the second highest number of applicants and a number were also received from Hamrun, Qormi and Birkirkara.

Age of applicants

The youngest applicant was 20 years old, while the eldest applicant was aged 93. The average age of applicants was 58. The majority of applicants were the elderly, and 61 per cent of all who requested assistance were from female-headed households.

Status of the applicants

The majority of the applicants are married (32.8 per cent), followed by those who are widowed (20.8 per cent). There were also a number of applications from those who are separated or single.

Work needed

More than half of the work approved was for bathrooms (61 per cent). A great number of applicants (56 per cent) also requested changes to their plumbing and electricity system.

When a case proceeds under the care and repair initiative, a tender has to be prepared and the time taken to prepare tenders was delaying the care and repair process and work for the beneficiaries was starting at a later date.

Clients were generally pleased with the outcome of the work that was carried out. Although the Care and Repair process takes a while, due to the time taken for tender preparations to be completed, beneficiaries did not complain about this. Only one person pointed out that a lot of time had passed before the work started.

The beneficiaries generally felt that the work was carried out well and that the people who carried out home visits offered valuable assistance and advice. On the whole, people felt that the work did not take a long time to be carried out and the beneficiaries praised the workers because they came to carry out the work every day.

They pointed out that once the work started, it was completed quickly. The beneficiaries felt that they had had good service and that the workers had done a good job in their home. Most of the beneficiaries were pleased with the quality and speed of the service.

All the beneficiaries interviewed felt that they were living in a safer environment. When people had a dangerous structure or even problems with electricity, they felt that they were not safe in their own home.

Applicants explained how the changes that were carried out in their house facilitated their everyday tasks, which gave them greater peace of mind. These changes helped to promote a feeling of independence. They were now not embarrassed by their home but proud of it. The HA said that from the report it compiled, it had established that the service was attaining its goal of reaching out to those in need and improving their well-being.

The beneficiaries of this service also expressed their gratitude in that now they are more comfortable in their own homes. To extend the service, the Housing Authority’s staff is looking further afield to target those people who find it difficult to obtain assistance through schemes.

The HA believes that as more cases come in, adaptations to the service have to be carried out in order to improve it. It also recognises that changes to the system will have to be carried out, according to the demands of the service.