‘Barely Getting By’: Ħamrun Man Details Anonymous Horror Stories Of Struggling Families
A Ħamrun resident took to Facebook to share a horrifying scenario about the silent struggles of people living in homelessness right under our noses.
“Picture yourselves as a couple with two children, working full-time and bringing home roughly €800 each per pay check,” he wrote.
“You bring home about €1,600 a month, and your bills average about €1,500 (give or take). You’re making it, but just barely,“ he continued, adding that this figure does not even include internet, cable, mobile, and other utilities, “nor does it cover the many expenses that young children require.”
And these numbers keep increasing, especially when the cold months creep in, and you “receive a power bill of €500.”
“How do you pay for that? You don’t. Because you can’t,” he exclaimed.
The man went on to explain how this creates an unfortunate domino effect.
“Your power gets shut off. But here’s the catch: your lease states you get evicted if your utilities are terminated.”
The man continued to explain how difficult it is to find somewhere else to stay as this eviction means that that the person won’t be able to pass the “necessary background and credit checks”.
He detailed the difficulty of being able to make ends meet, so much so, that the person ends up living in the car with their children, simply “trying to get by”.
Things take a turn for the worse when someone witnesses this distressing scene and calls Child Protective Services who take the children away from their parents.
“As if this isn’t devastating enough, you lose your job because ‘an employee losing their child reflects poorly on the company,’” he continued.
Lovin Malta reached out to the user who posted this heart-wrenching story, who clarified that while this is not his personal experience, it is the reality of people who are close to him.
“I have seen even worse,” he told the newsroom, admitting to seeing “people living in garages.”
“I live in Ħamrun. I see a lot of people struggling,” he continued.
The man explained that the concept of homelessness is not as foreign and out of reach as most people deem it to be:
“We are all so close to homelessness and we don’t even realise it. All it take is one unexpected bill, one fender bender, one lay-off, one house fire.”
This is precisely why, rather than “speaking negatively about people who are struggling, homeless, or in need of assistance,” we should all be grateful to not be “in their shoes… YET,” he continued.
Do you know of anyone in a similar situation?
READ NEXT: Watch: PN Executive Member Says Franco Debono Should Return To Party
