Convent turned into night shelter

Malta's first night shelter for the elderly is set to open in the coming months as a pilot project.

The shelter will be housed at Jesus of Nazareth Convent in Zejtun and will be run by the nuns with government financial assistance.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly, Mario Galea, toured the premises this morning and said the secretariat had spent almost €93,000 to prepare the facilities, which include a dining room, sitting room, bedrooms and a lift. There will initially be eight beds in as many bedrooms. Work on the shelter is currently being completed.

The elderly will pay €2 per night to use the night shelter, going there in the evening and leaving after breakfast. The government will pay the nuns €4,000 to provide the service.

Mr Galea explained that many elderly people were seeking to live in homes for the elderly because they felt lonely or insecure at night, particularly if they lived alone. Night shelters could be a means of easing the number of applicants for the homes while giving the elderly a safe place where to sleep while continuing to live in their communities.

He said the secretariat would monitor interest in the shelter before proceeding with the opening of new ones.

A call for applications from those wishing to use the shelter will be issued in the coming weeks.