Homelessness Is Not A Hoax: YMCA CEO Debunks Troubling Misconceptions
Homelessness may not be as evident in Malta as it is in other European countries, and Lovin Malta has posted many horror stories of people who have experienced life without a roof over their head.
People experiencing homelessness are right under our noses. However, since these individuals are hidden in plain sight, some people still believe that it’s merely a hoax.
About a week ago, Lovin Malta wrote an article about homelessness, where a man shared the sobering realities of some individuals living in Ħamrun. However, some commenters were skeptical about his testimonies.
So, we decided to take up their concerns with Anthony Camilleri, the CEO of YMCA which runs homeless shelters in Malta.
Between 2020 and 2023, the organisation assisted 107 individuals.
Camilleri revealed that in 2023, the shelter received about 43 cases a month of individuals who required shelter. This increased by 12 cases monthly from the previous year, he explained.
Homelessness is a hoax. The minimum wage should suffice for someone to be able to get by.
“Rise of living costs and current food prices does not tally with €854.16 minimum wage!,” Camilleri replied
Why do we still have employments with such low paycheck? We have met several cases where companies do not legally register their employees, nor provide a job contract, payslips, basic benefits and in the majority of these cases they pay lower than the national minimum wage.”
The government gives subsidies on rentals if your income is low, so how can one not afford to pay their rent?
“Rent is increasing everyday, not to mention that rent is no longer about the apartment but renting the bed or the room. We had cases whereby individuals rented the bed for a few hours during the day or night.
We have had cases involving individuals who could not open a bank account because they did not have a registered address.
Similarly, to be able to get social benefits you need to be registered with Jobsplus. If you have no address, you are not able to register with Jobsplus.
To be able to get social benefits, in the case of homelessness, you need to be registered with the housing authority. If you do not have some form of income, the housing authority cannot register you. This was a case we had in November.”
How have I never seen a single homeless person in Malta?
Invisible homelessness does not come with a tag – most of the homeless people are employed, go to school and are normal people we see everyday. The same goes for people who are at risk of poverty and also at risk of homelessness whereby they still live in a house and are not roofless. The idea that homelessness are the dirty, lazy, addicts is a stereotype of the past!
We had cases of people that stayed in boats, tents, parking garages or the beaches in summer. In our latest research we have issued stories of construction workers that sleep at the construction sites they are working in.”
Are these homeless people mostly Maltese or foreigners?
Just go out and get a job. There are job openings everywhere.
“It is true that job openings have increased but before someone gets a job, the basic necessities must be met such as a roof over their head, food etc.
This does not mean that we did not have cases of people who showered at public toilets before they go to their daily job.”
Don’t these people have families that can put them up until their situation gets better?
“Homelessness is increasing for people above the age of 60. In fact, last year we received 36 cases of individuals who are over 60 and without a roof over their head.
Unfortunately we had cases of children putting their parents in homelessness after signing the last will.”
Do you know anyone who’s struggling financially at the moment?
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