Homeless people should not be allowed to refuse shelter when offered, Marsa mayor Josef Azzopardi told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

“It is not the first time that help was offered to these people, but they have refused seeking shelter,” Azzopardi said.

The issue of homelessness is a complex one, and people can become homeless for many reasons. Mitigating the devastating impact that homelessness has on a person who has no fixed place where to live or who is on the verge of becoming homeless, or on society as a whole, proves to be a challenging one.

Malta’s homelessness scene appears to be manageable so far, although each individual living on the streets has their personal story which needs attention. But the problem could become bigger unless it is treated, and the inflation that this year has hit most nations, including Malta, is set to have a negative impact. The extremely high prices for housing and rent, paired with rising prices of basic commodities and certain barriers homeless people face in order to apply for social housing continue to make the situation worse.

The YMCA has said that further research on homelessness should be conducted, to implement change in the local and national policy frameworks, placing homelessness on the national agenda.

After receiving reports of the number of homeless people increasing in certain localities, The Malta Independent on Sunday contacted the local councils to get their views.

Sliema deputy mayor Anton Debono (above) acknowledged that homelessness is in fact on the rise in Sliema.

“The local council continuously receives reports of new people sleeping on benches. I am an owner of a mini market in Sliema and these people have come in to beg for money, as well as outside,” Debono said.

Debono said that homeless people have situated themselves in the Sliema playground, in Ġnien George Bonello Dupuis, as well as at Independence Gardens.

“They would normally be foreigners who ended up with no work, stuck in Malta because they cannot afford to go back to their home country or prefer staying in Malta due to worse circumstances in their own country,” Debono said.

“Some of these people would have failed to obtain or extend their work permits, ending up on the streets as rent is way too high for them in these areas,” he added.

Asked about what measures the local council takes to help the homeless, Debono said that the local council informs the concerned authorities; that is the most that they can do.

“We cannot tell them to leave, there needs to be more enforcement. Some go and shower in the public conveniences around Sliema; there was even a report that a person has been seen showering fully naked at the showers at the beach,” Debono said.

Debono said that unfortunately their conditions worsen when they start resorting to alcohol. They often end up alone with no contact with other people, not even having access to a mobile phone.

Asked if there are enough shelters for homeless people in Malta, Debono said that he believes that there are enough shelters, however there is limited contact. He said that some even do not want to go to the shelters, preferring to stay on the streets.

Debono said that concerned authorities should make every possible contact with these people when reports come in, and offer them facilities until they find a job or are deported.

Debono added that other issues arise when the person resides in Malta illegally. He said that aside from the reports received by the Sliema local council, many residents have approached him personally to inform him that a new person has been sleeping outside in the area.

Marsa mayor Azzopardi said that it is unacceptable for a human to be living on the streets, compromising their dignity.

Azzopardi said that he is always in touch with authorities to address the issue and has even spoken to the YMCA and the Foundation for Social Welfare Services about certain cases himself.

“There have been success stories where these people accepted the help offered, but there have been also people who refused,” Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi said that he personally cannot accept that a person lives on the streets simply because they want to, despite there being government services and agencies which offer assistance.

“There are enough shelters and the authorities do go to where these people are. Shelters usually have rules which homeless people who refuse help, do not want to adhere to,” he noted.

“A problem I often see is when the police or authorities try to help these people by finding them somewhere to live and these people refuse of their own will. Living on the streets means that you will have to do your business in public spaces, resort to begging for money or even commit crimes,” Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi said that there needs to be an enforced system where it doesn’t allow for homeless people to refuse shelter when offered.

“It should not be a choice that they do not want to. There is no dignity in living on the streets,” he said.

He said that discussions should commence about the development of a law about homelessness, entailing that one cannot refuse shelter and help from services.

“It should be more rigid; a person is not made to live on the streets. This will also cause problems for residents and people living in the area,” he continued.

“Thankfully, homelessness is not the norm in Malta, as it is in other countries. However, I do not wish for it to become a norm,” Azzopardi said.

Ħamrun mayor Christian Sammut was also contacted and asked whether there has been an increase in homeless people in the locality. Sammut said that he has received no such reports.