People were being driven to sleep in cars or share a house with another family as they struggled to keep up with their rent or housing costs, an anti-poverty seminar heard yesterday.

The room went eerily quiet as social worker Ann Marie Ciantar recounted the true story of a 28-year-old woman who started her life at the crèche and had to receive treatment at Mount Carmel Hospital in her teenage years.

By the time she turned 18, when she was expected to start leading an independent life, she had no skills, qualifications, shelter or support network, Ms Ciantar told a conference organised by the Anti-Poverty Forum. The woman met a man whom she thought could help provide a roof over her head, but instead, he introduced her to prostitution.

When she found out she was pregnant, she decided she did not want her child to go through her same life experience, and with the help of social workers, she managed to stop the abusive relationship, find shelter, and eventually rent a place in Cottonera.

Make sure that social housing does not become a political gift to the detriment of those who really need help

Unfortunately, the house was not structurally sound and she had to move to another, which consisted of just two rooms.

She managed to complete a course in elderly care and find employment, but was faced with a garnishee order, which the social workers helped her manage so that she could use her salary to pay her daily bills and settle the debt. But this was not the end of the woman’s difficulties. When she tried to apply for the government’s rent subsidy, the landlord threatened to kick her out, as his income was not declared.

Ms Ciantar noted that this was just one of several cases of families who were at risk of poverty. People were not able to afford rent, as it was increasing quickly, while their income remained low. There were families who moved from one residence to another and had to face additional expenses, such as buying new uniforms as their children had to change schools.

Ms Ciantar called for practical solutions and noted that abandoned buildings were resources that should be tapped into so that people could be provided with shelter, which is a fundamental human right.

Addressing the same conference, APF Malta chair Saviour Grima noted that the scope of this conference was to go beyond words and find solutions.

A position paper presented by APF yesterday reiterated that children could never have the stability that they needed if their families kept moving around.

The government needed to ensure fair market conditions for tenants, and unlike what happened in the past, make sure that social housing did not become a political gift to the detriment of those who really need help.

A structure that overlooked housing was needed. This would create social frameworks and financial institutions, such as a social bank that ensured a provision of adequate social housing at affordable prices for low-income families.

Speaking from the audience, Chair of the Housing Authority Antoinette Vassallo noted that when a person moved into a residential home, the authority could not allocate their house or apartment to someone else until they passed away or a doctor certified that they could no longer live on their own.

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