An aggrieved family on the verge of homelessness has been left feeling “highly discriminated” against, after attempts to get help from the Housing Authority were ignored, The Malta Independent was told.

The mother of two children told this newsroom that she was evicted from her residence two years ago, leaving her and her children – aged three and five at the time – with nowhere to live.

Informing the Housing Authority of her situation, the woman was told that the authority would do its utmost to provide her and her children with accommodation.

To this date, she has not heard back from the Housing Authority.

“I still have no idea where I stand,” the woman said.

The family was able to temporarily live with a family friend in a confined living space. The friend was in possession of a pet cat, which posed a threat to one of the woman’s children.

“My daughter was highly allergic and I had to constantly give her anti-histamine syrup to keep the condition under control”, she said.

A representative from the Housing Authority eventually visited the flat to take its measurements. The woman noted that the representative exclaimed “How can you all live here? It’s so small!”

He told the woman that she would hear back from the Housing Authority in a few weeks; however, the woman was once again left in the dark.

Upon contacting the Housing Authority, the woman was told that it “didn’t know” if there was an update on her case.

Now, the woman and her children have moved into a flat with the aid of a rent subsidy. While she notes that this has been helpful, she was faced with paying a large sum for the deposit to move in, as well as one month’s rent upfront.

The woman’s grandmother lent her the money to pay these sums, however she has struggled to reimburse her.

“Money is simply too tight”, she noted.

The woman has attempted to apply for social accommodation with a newly built block of flats in Triq il-Hgejjeg in Bugibba, which was set up by the Housing Authority.

Her request has fallen on deaf ears once more.

“Just last week, I once again phoned the Housing Authority and asked if I was able to make a request for one of these flats”, she said. “The answer was once again ‘we don’t know’”.

She said that, while she knows people personally who have acquired social housing and is happy for them, she has noticed that “most” people using social housing are sex workers and drug users who are using the accommodation to “bring in clients and make money”.

“I feel that in order to be taken seriously, one should become a drug dealer or a junkie or a sex worker,” she said.

She hopes that her case is given the attention it deserves and that other cases similar to hers are not left in the dark by the Housing Authority.