Drive to raise awareness of home repair scheme

The Housing Authority's Care and Repair Department conducted work on over 170 residences free of charge this year but many other people are probably still living in poor conditions because they remain oblivious of the scheme.

Department head Rose Anne Debono said the team was encouraging parish priests, social workers and local councils who encountered social cases in their locality to come forward and guide them on people's needs.

"There are so many people, especially elderly individuals, who are living in appalling conditions because they have no idea that this scheme exists," she said in an interview.

On the flip side there were many more who refused to apply because their chances of getting alternative accommodation would be weakened if their home was repaired, she continued.

Ms Debono and her team are working to create an awareness of the scheme and improve and expand on what has so far proved to be a successful service.

Ms Debono, together with the department's two technical officers and the general manager, are now in a better position to proceed thanks to a two-week vocational placement with two leading care and repair agencies in the UK. The placement was made possible after the authority was awarded aid under the EU's Leonardo scheme.

"It was extremely interesting to see how other agencies work and how they deal with the problems they encounter," she said.

An interesting feature which Ms Debono hopes the department will adopt is a handyman service, which would result in more efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

"At the moment, if we need to carry out small jobs we have to go through the whole process of tenders and quotations, which is time-consuming. With our own handyman service we would be in a better position to provide a quicker service," she said.

Ms Debono also hopes to introduce a liaison with the Health Department and hospital staff in an attempt to tackle the problem of people who enter hospital and remain there for weeks on end because they had no proper home to go to.

"If we strike this relationship we can ensure that the person's home is repaired while they are in hospital, ensuring they have a safe home to go to when they get better," she said.

The most common repairs carried out in this scheme included fixing the bathroom, followed by dangerous structures, timber balconies and windows.

Since the service was launched in May 2002, over Lm86,000 has been pumped into the scheme.

Authority chairman Marisa Micallef Leyson believes that the care and repair scheme is probably the most important service offered by the authority.

"Unfortunately, many do not come forward and we have to find them and persuade them that we can improve their home. The UK training that the staff underwent really showed them how similar the problems are and how the elderly and lone mothers are the most vulnerable group when it comes to needing housing repairs," she said.