With an acknowledged rise in Maltese homelessness, those sleeping rough are afraid to speak up for fear of labelling and even harassment by society, Anthony Camilleri, CEO of Malta YMCA told the Malta Independent on Sunday. He said that though homelessness is rising, those who are roofless remain invisible to society out of shame and are too scared to speak out about their suffering.

In Malta, YMCA began in 1976 as a youth group organising events and festivals for young people with a hub in the heart of Valletta, where today the organisation has its head office. However, it soon became clear for the first YMCA leaders that homelessness was a real issue in Malta, Camilleri said.

"Those who came before me recognized that many young people were sleeping in the streets due to drug use and addiction. This marked the start of our work with homeless individuals. We were the first organisation in Malta to address homelessness, and now, thankfully, other NGOs have also stepped in to provide additional services," he said.

"Most people are afraid to say that they are experiencing homelessness because of the stigma attached because they do not want people to label them as 'lazy' or 'problematic' or be bullied and harassed simply because they do not have a place to call home," Camilleri said.

"Homelessness in Malta is mostly invisible because people delay taking action to address their circumstances and are ashamed to admit that they do not have anywhere to live. If they become homeless, they'd rather stay with friends, moving from one place to another, which leads to the issue of couch-surfing."

Camilleri explained that the stigma surrounding personal struggles, whether it's homelessness due to a sudden illness or poor life choices that might invite blame, prevents people from speaking openly about their experiences. "In the past, we often had people coming to us with all their belongings in a garbage bag, and that still happens. However, these days, it tends to be more discreet, with individuals using shopping bags or a backpack."

Despite the ongoing local culture of shame, Camilleri noted that in the rare instances when someone experiencing homelessness speaks out, "the community responds remarkably well."

The local stigma surrounding homelessness is more pervasive than many realise, affecting the funding of YMCA, a voluntary NGO, Camilleri said. He explained that "fundraising has become extremely challenging." Whilst people are starting to recognize that homelessness is on the rise, there is still a prevailing attitude of, 'It's their fault,' which hinders YMCA's fundraising efforts. "Our mission is to highlight that these individuals are suffering and the majority are Maltese. Unfortunately, one of our challenges is that we seldom have people willing to share their stories due to the taboo surrounding the matter," he added.

"While foreigners have traditionally made up the largest group experiencing homelessness, in the past two years, Maltese cases have surpassed those of migrants. This doesn't mean all the foreign cases involve third-country nationals; we also see EU nationals. For instance, between January and June, we had 22 EU nationals, while 166 cases involved Maltese individuals, which is a significant number."

Camilleri said that from January to June the YMCA received 43 referrals per month, in other words over 250 cases referred in 6 months, but could only accept 119 cases in the 3 shelters which the YMCA runs. He said that of the 119 cases, 50 successfully 'moved on' to independent living.

Camilleri stressed that 'moving on' does not mean being provided with a roof over one's head, since individuals who have experienced homelessness and are still attached to this traumatic event have often led to intergenerational patterns of homelessness. He explained that this 'intergenerational pattern' means that parents without a roof can have children who end up without a roof and so on, in "a vicious cycle that must be broken."

"Homelessness is, more often than not, a trauma, and this trauma leads to the formation of 'homeless' identity often coloured with a set of actions, beliefs and behaviour. So, our job at the YMCA is to actually pull them away from this identity by reminding them that they are more than this temporary state in their lives. Only through acknowledging this trauma, its pain, what led to it and working on themselves holistically, can they actually move on."

Camilleri highlighted other shifts in trends of homelessness over the past years. "When I first started at YMCA, we had only one shelter, and most of the service users were unemployed. At that time, unemployment was considered one of the main causes of homelessness. Today however, all of the people in our shelters are working, and they were employed before they started residing with us. If you were to visit a shelter during the day, it would be empty because everyone is out at work, except for mothers with young children or a few still seeking employment. Most of our residents now have jobs, but their current challenge is covering all their expenses due to low wages and the high cost of living."

"People need to understand that homelessness is multifaceted," he said. "It's not just the person begging outside a supermarket who might struggle with addiction or the person without shoes. There are far more cases than we realise. It could be that the person sitting next to you at work is living in a shelter for homeless persons, and you wouldn't know. We had a case of a female professional, who was homeless for two months after having to leave her home, until she managed to get her life back on track. We've also seen people working in government jobs who became homeless, as well as students currently studying at MCAST or University. These students won't tell you they're living with 34 others in Dar Niki Cassar."

He also highlighted that homelessness affects children, who are blameless in their situation adding, "We have kids who are picked up for school by the bus right in front of the shelter. They go to school and then return to the shelter at the end of the day."

"The issue is whether their income is enough to cover expenses. While it's great that we have free healthcare, some medications still come at a cost. For example, certain medications can cost up to €50. We've had employed individuals who were saving up, but when a sudden health issue arises, they find themselves struggling to afford their medication. In those cases, we've stepped in to assist with the costs."

Camilleri went on to shed light on the YMCA's struggles with funding. "When organising a marathon on TV, it costs about €50,000, a fact that the public often isn't aware of. This means that the first €50,000 raised on the day goes directly to cover the expenses, not including staff costs for the work done beforehand. On the day of the event, all staff volunteer their time, working more than 12 hours without getting paid. In fact, right now, we can't afford to hold a TV marathon every year." He stressed that this creates a vicious cycle: the lack of monetary donations undermines YMCA's marketing efforts, which in turn limits their ability to attract further donations. He went on to point out that this is particularly essential in a small country with intense competition amongst NGOs, making it crucial for YMCA to sustain its operations and run marathons more frequently.

Camilleri highlighted that during the pandemic, YMCA established the Platform Against Homelessness, which served as a "catalyst" to bring NGOs together to define homelessness and propose recommendations to the government. "For instance, we advocated for the removal of the requirement that individuals must have an address to apply for social housing, and the government responded positively. Despite this progress, we currently lack a similar catalyst to unite NGOs, particularly in the area of food provision," he said.

Camilleri highlighted the existing gap between food bank services, including soup kitchens and other NGOs that work directly or indirectly in the field of homelessness. "There is a growing sense of entitlement among individuals asking for food donations. They might have received food from the Food Bank and then go to another NGO, taking more than their fair share. It raises the question: why collect a box from the Food Bank if you're already receiving meals from the soup kitchen? We as NGOs could work more effectively together, optimising resources and minimising instances of service abuse."

Camilleri pointed out an additional challenge with food donation. "For example, if a particular product is provided, where will roofless people cook it? There's little benefit in receiving food if there's no means to prepare it. This is precisely why we've set up a self-service kitchen at the Drop-in Centre to address these issues."

When asked about the government funding, particularly the recently reported extension of a €2 million agreement with the Ministry for Social Policy and Children's Rights, Camilleri clarified, "People mistakenly believe that YMCA is now financially stable because of the renewal of the agreement. While this package is designed to provide financial support for the services offered at our residential facilities, it is still not enough. YMCA also operates a Drop-In Centre that caters for 40 to 60 individuals daily, along with outreach initiatives that this year delivered over 33 activities, engaging 848 young people. Additionally, we offer prevention initiatives that include 685 sessions of counselling and psychotherapy, none of which receive external funding. YMCA also benefits from a 3-year agreement with Agenzija Zghazagh through Invest Scheme that supports some of our youth work initiatives but to be able to cover the remaining costs, YMCA relies on fundraising and monetary donations. To sustain our entire operation, YMCA requires between €900,000 and €1 million annually."

When asked about the recent statistics released by the Ministry for Social Policy and Children's Rights, which indicated significant decreases in poverty and material deprivation alongside record-low unemployment despite the rising number of homeless Maltese individuals, Camilleri responded, "From our cases and YMCA's research, largely due to gaps in national statistics on homelessness, we've identified two key issues. Firstly, society is becoming more fragmented, leading to weakened relationships and increased family issues. Secondly, the dissolution of social classes has financial implications, resulting in critical family conflicts that sometimes contribute to separation and divorce. There is a stark divide between individuals who are financially stable, enjoying higher salaries and greater disposable income and those who remain in poverty, as many still struggle with limited spending power amidst rising food and rental costs."

He continued: "While some might argue that rents haven't increased but have merely been adjusted, I understand the reasoning behind this perspective. However, we must recognize that this leaves many people behind. The government needs to acknowledge the importance of progress but should ensure that no one is left behind in the process."

Returning to the fragmentation of society, Camilleri said, "I believe there is a growing divide between the upper and lower classes, with the middle class slowly disappearing." When asked about the Prime Minister's promise for substantial tax reductions for this "disappearing" middle class, he answered, "It's a good incentive because currently, individuals earning €50,000 are taxed the same as those earning €19,500, which simply doesn't make sense. We need to start incentivising people based on their actual needs. This principle should also apply to utility bills; why provide the same incentives for everyone? If I have €10 in my pocket, I shouldn't receive the same discount as someone with €500. There are many benefits available, but we need to ensure that they are distributed equitably, taking individual circumstances into account."

Camilleri pointed out an additional problem, that "Malta does not have a legal definition of homelessness, and this absence of definition can lead to inconsistent practices." Although living a vagrant life is illegal, the police frequently support the YMCA in its efforts to raise awareness and provide the necessary services to those experiencing rooflessness who are encountered by the police through their work or by YMCA's Y-Visible's outreach team, he said.

On the other hand, Camilleri said, "We've encountered instances where individuals experiencing rooflessness were reported living on benches in public spaces, meant for community use, resulting in the benches being removed. There have also been occasions when roofless individuals making use of public spaces were forcibly removed."

As the issue of homelessness is on the rise, the need for mental health services is also increasing Camilleri said, adding that this is the feedback received from various organisations working in the mental health sector. He said the increase in demand is always felt during the month of October, thanks to the various initiatives and campaigns to commemorate World Mental Health Day.

"In fact, so far this year, the YMCA has 65 active service users who are benefiting from its psychotherapy services, with some of the service users being referred from other services that could not keep up with the demand," Camilleri said. "The most common issue which our therapists deal with is that of general anxiety, whereby the service users are anxious about the outlook of their future," he noted.

In light of this, Camilleri said, "We often forget that the experience of becoming homeless is also a traumatic one, where the person has literally lost everything. They lost their home with virtually no support and losing their identity and dignity in the process. Entering a shelter for persons experiencing homelessness is usually the last resort when the person has exhausted all other resources so that they do not end up sleeping rough. As part of the care program, we give them the necessary tools, such as psychotherapy, in order for them to be able to work on themselves to be able to move out."