Dealing with the issue of poverty is often complicated by the lack of proper definition of what we mean by poverty. Sociologists distinguish between the concepts of economic, human and social poverty that are distinct from each other but also closely linked.

The President, George Abela, expressed concern about social poverty when he stated: “Poverty exists in certain pockets of society and the Community Chest Fund deals with this reality every day.” He gave an example of social poverty when he referred to “prison inmates who ended up on the street without income or anywhere to go when they serve their sentence”.

The chairman of the Alliance of Pensioner Organisations, Albert J. Tabone, argues that many pensioners face poverty as a result of the inadequacy of their pensions. He explains the situation very succinctly: “While a retired person cannot expect to maintain exactly the quality of life s/he used to enjoy while economically active, neither should s/he end up merely existing.” This is the more familiar type of economic poverty.

Social poverty has been defined as “a lack or scarcity of the kind of social trust and connections that link individuals and enable freedom of movement up and down the socioeconomic and cultural ladder”. This condition inevitably leads to economic poverty. The message of the President should be interpreted in the sense that, while every effort is being made to help those who are socially poor, the ultimate solution is to provide these people with the social capital that will lift them out of social poverty.

Pensioners too can slide into social poverty after first experiencing economic poverty. There are many pensioners who, despite a respectable career, experience economic poverty on retirement when their pension proves not to be enough to afford them a reasonable quality of life. They often no longer have the social capital to remedy this situation and end up as another marginalised group in society.

There are other marginalised groups, including young unmarried mothers, separated persons, the long-term unemployed and those with special needs who live on their own with insufficient economic means and little social support. A caring society cannot just ignore these issues as tough they do not exist or, even worse, blame the victims of such poverty for engineering their own desperate situation.

The challenging task of addressing all forms of poverty falls on both society and the individuals that belong to it but also on the state that has the responsibility of creating the conditions that empowers people to move out of poverty. It is encouraging that the Malta Community Chest Fund is being supported more enthusiastically by the public, despite the difficult economic situation that we have been facing in the last few years. This goes against the experience of charities in some other countries that have seen contributions by the public fall as a result of the global recession.

At government level, decisions need to be taken expeditiously to reform social services and pensions. The aim should be triple: To seriously cut down on abuse; to provide more effective safety nets for those facing the risk of poverty, including pensioners and other disadvantaged groups like the long-term unemployed; and to help those who can be helped, to climb out of poverty by arming them with resources such as better skills and social connections.

The caring society that makes us a better nation can only be one that works to rid itself of all forms of poverty.