The Social Policy Ministry has signed an agreement to financially support the Malta Gay Rights Movement so that it can continue to offer services to the local LGBTIQ+ community.
The agreement, signed in Valletta as Malta hosts the EuroPride event, is worth €270,000 and will run for three years.
Colette Farrugia Bennett from MGRM explained that the agreement is a “special opportunity” for them as it will allow them to continue to offer their Rainbow Support Services.
These services, which have been available for a decade now, focus on offering support to members of the LGBTIQ+ community and to their families as well.
Farrugia Bennett said that one of the main things experienced by community members is ‘minority stress’, which is essentially being part of a minority and receiving negative messages – something seen during the EuroPride celebrations.
This contributes to the deterioration of the mental health of youths, particularly of those who perhaps have not come to terms with their sexual identity or orientation and those who are seeking support because they are afraid to speak to their families about this topic, she said.
Another service offered by MGRM is the Rainbow Families Network, wherein Farrugia Bennett explained that this brings together same-sex parents and also the parents of those who are transsexual.
She said that this group has come together more over the past year, and that this community-support is something to celebrate.
She said that MGRM is also working on a new project named Dar Qawsalla, which will be a small shelter specifically for LGBTIQ+ people who end up on the streets.
Farrugia Bennett said that there are cases where youths may have been kicked out of their home by their parents due to their sexual orientation or identity, and there are other cases where it is difficult for youths to live in that household due to difficulties related to the same reason.
Likewise, the home will also cater to LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, who Farrugia Bennett said usually escape their home countries because their sexual orientation of gender identity is not accepted over there. Those asylum seekers, she said, may then be experiencing the same things that they experienced back home in the detention and open centres.
Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said that there is symbolism in the agreement being signed now due to the ongoing EuroPride celebrations, but said it is also a sign of the government’s commitment to inclusion.
“The biggest aim of politics has to be inclusion,” Falzon said, noting that accepting diversity is what expands society.
Foundation for Social Wellbeing Services CEO Alfred Grixti, who signed the agreement with MGRM, said that “this is not lip service” but is a sign of the commitment that the government has to furthering and supporting equality.
He also said that the government’s LGBTIQ Hub is set to be up and running by the end of the year, after running into bureaucratic issues which delayed it.