Since the turn of the millennium, many Western societies including European member states have embarked on ambitious housing and urban development projects of national and international scope. The drive behind this was to address housing shortage through the construction of new towns. Despite the fact that this was an important and much-needed shift, the social dimension and needs of communities are often side-lined from such large-scale infrastructural projects. And this is where the Coronavirus pandemic comes in. It gave us a serendipitous opportunity to pause in order to rethink the relationship between housing, modern needs, design and infrastructure. A chance to assess the social and cultural milieu, which nowadays includes multiple voices.

It is very clear to all by now, that our homes are serving as a fulcrum to the deep social, economic and health transformations brought about by the pandemic. As a Minister for Social Housing, I must ensure that no one is left behind during such difficult times. Albeit that Malta is largely a nation of homeowners, this is not the reality of all. From the research that we conducted, it emerged that the homeless, including the hidden homeless, which is the most common form of homelessness in Malta, were being lost in the system. This was due to the fact that homeless shelters had to change their emergency status into a residential one so as to respect the health directives of containment and social distancing.

In light of this new reality, the Ministry facilitated an inter-ministerial collaboration with Public health, FSWS, SCSA and the Platform against Homelessness. The newly formed co-ordinating team implemented a new health quarantine protocol for the homeless and entails a centralised referral system which is offering a separate process for swabbing, transportation and short-term accommodation for quarantine purposes prior to individuals and families entering shelters. The first port of call is Dar l-Impenn, where individuals are able to wait for their results. If negative, they are safely accompanied to Dar Maria Dolores, Dar Frangisk or Dar Padova, depending on the care service provision required. Here, they are greeted by expert professionals who will guide them on the quarantine protocol as devised by Public Health.

These interim quarantine shelters are also operating according to a specialised housing approach based on the support required. This solution-oriented system is taking a bottom-up approach to homelessness while also taking into consideration the specific care needs of each homeless individual or family. This interim phase is crucial because it is offering hope while facilitating a housing pathway in combination with the adequate care programme. In fact, we already have one quarantine shelter which is operating at full capacity for the next two weeks.

The ultimate goal is to help people now, but to also devise a medium- to a long-term plan based on specialised housing in order to create an opportunity for social mobility. In fact, we are in close contact with the Housing Authority to assess and provide the best housing support on a case-by-case scenario.

As a minister who deeply believes that housing is a human right, I must ensure that we reach out to all those in need during global crisis. This new inter-ministerial system is a form of good governance based on solidarity and collaboration which ought to be taken as a best practice. At the heart of its success there is the will to listen, to act and a belief in the common good.  Besides, my team will remain in continuous dialogue with the third sector to ensure that we build a culturally sensitive long-term plan to eradicate hidden homelessness.

As I said at the outset, housing has never been more central to the survival and wellness of our society. Let’s use this time to rethink how the design of our homes, housing policy and infrastructure can be rethought by including the social dimension from the start!

And finally, the quick and positive response to this collaboration which cuts across government entities, the third sector and citizens, demonstrates that ingrained within Maltese consciousness and behaviour there is the need for networking and to act in social solidarity.

Roderick Galdes is Minister for Social Accommodation