Helping people help themselves

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister recently inaugurated a resource centre which is focused on the needs of the family in Cottonera. At the same time the Council of Europe, which has 44 member states, held a meeting in Malta to reaffirm the relevance of social rights and the need to promote sustainable development based on the same rights.

Fine words, I know, but what are we actually achieving on the ground? Social policy, like housing policy, is really all about people. Do we have a people-centred approach yet? Are we on the way to achieving one? Do policies and resource centres on their own achieve this aim?

The opening of the resource centre in Cottonera is certainly an important first step in the right direction. First of all the building itself, perched on our fortifications, is an important link between old and new, using what we have to build up for the future. And what future does this country have without far better use of its human resources?

And we need to maximise these human resources everywhere, not only in the most affluent areas of Malta, where Internet use is at its highest, but also in areas which have pockets of deprivation.

Cottonera is not what many of us imagine it to be. It has great talent, great spirit and people who have proved themselves time and time again. In recent years many people with social problems have moved there and the whole area has been unfairly stigmatised.

The problems are now there however and it is important that this newly opened resource centre can bring together the various resources that residents need, from social care to housing, from social skills to child care, from social interaction to counselling, from meals to transport.

The Housing Authority is also trying to have a more people-centred approach, is trying to reach out rather than wait for clients to visit us, is trying to move away from rigid schemes to a people-centred care and repair service.

Here are some real success stories which we have achieved to date with some details changed to protect identities. Obviously now the opening of the resource centre will allow us to work better with our partners in social welfare provision with the ultimate aim of giving people that lift to help themselves.

A young woman, who lives in one of the ever declining number of requisitioned homes, is disabled and is a single parent. Her home is totally unsuitable and inaccessible. A referral about her from a doctor and a former MP and minister prompted the Housing Authority to visit.

Here was a woman struggling against all the odds and supporting herself.

Her home could not be made safe as the front door opened directly onto a busy road with no pavement, a daily nightmare for a young woman with a small child leaving home to go to work in the rush hour every day. She is offered a government flat nearby which is fully accessible and has a lift.

A middle-aged woman has been the victim of domestic violence and mental abuse for over 10 years. Her husband persists in using all the court tricks possible to delay the separation. As she technically owns half a property it is difficult to rehouse her.

Following the intervention of both the Housing Authority and the Department of Social Housing a solution is found, giving short shrift to the oft-repeated lie that the Department of Social Housing ignores humanitarian cases.

A very severely disabled older man lives in a government flat in the north of the island where it is not possible to install a lift. Housing Authority board members visit the flat to assess the situation. It is decided to offer him a purpose-built flat nearby which he refuses as he prefers to stay put.

The Housing Authority commissions a specialist engineer to see if an individual lift can be installed. While the permit is pending a new bathroom is installed for free.

There are many other stories which do not fit into schemes or rules and regulations but where it makes common sense that your and my taxes are used to give solutions.

We do not want a country that glorifies dependency. We want a country where anyone with problems is given the tools and resources to help themselves.

Something we should all remember when we start to dip into our pockets at Christmas-time.

Charity is good but helping people to help themselves is even better...

Ms Micallef Leyson is chairman of the Housing Authority