An unused Birkirkara townhouse will provide warm meals and refuge for up to 40 people a day once it is transformed into a shelter for the poor, the homeless and the “lonely”.
Caritas Malta executive director Leonid McKay told The Sunday Times of Malta the shelter – expected to be up and running in the coming months – was not simply geared towards helping those without a roof over their head.
“There is a strong demand for these services for many different types of people. We see this not only from those who come knocking on our door every day, but also in the way similar services are being taken up,” Mr McKay said.
The drop-in shelter, being established jointly by the Church entity, the government and the Alf Mizzi Foundation, will offer 20 men and 18 women a bed, but just for the night. “This isn’t a residential programme, it’s a drop-in centre. There are other shelters that cater for people longer term. But there are other people who may have a place to sleep but still need support. These people need assistance, too,” Mr McKay said.
He explained that the centre would feed around 60 people each day with a restaurant-style lunch prepared by a professional hotel chef who agreed to form part of the shelter’s team.
This follows the success of a Christmas lunch Caritas organised in December. The meal attracted 200 people and catered for those who had nowhere to go. Mr McKay said it also drew a large number who simply had no one to share the day with.
“We came across a number of people who did not want to be alone. One woman said she had enough money to feed herself and even brought a donation with her. When asked why she came, she said she couldn’t face another Christmas by herself,” he said.
There is no such thing as being at risk of poverty;if you’ve gone that far, then you’re already poor
For many, the idea of Caritas organising Christmas meals and helping the “lonely” may sound strange, as the organisation is synonymous with helping victims of drug abuse and operates a large centre for addicts in the idyllic surroundings of San Blas, Żebbuġ.
However, Mr McKay said: “Caritas isn’t about helping addicts, it’s about helping those in need.”
When he first took the helm of the organisation in 2014, he set out to broaden its scope.
Mapping out a course for the next few years, Mr McKay said he wanted Caritas to challenge the commonly held ideas about the most vulnerable members of Maltese society.
“One thing we have to get straight, for instance, is this: there is no such thing as being ‘at risk of poverty’; if you’ve gone that far, then you’re already poor,” Mr McKay said.
Caritas is currently finalising research to establish the minimum requirements for survival in Malta, a follow-up to a similar study carried out in 2012.
Glancing at his schedule, Mr McKay sees a long list of meetings for the rest of the day, and the issues to be tackled are not limited to drug abuse.
Asked if he feels equipped to tackle these issues, he is quick to reply: “Some question whether the Church is still central in Maltese life.
“I will not accept a situation where the Church is not at the centre of issues concerning the most vulnerable in society. “This is where the Church belongs. It has the resources and expertise to really make a difference.”