The national support hotline this year received more than 200 calls from homeless people seeking advice and comfort.
A breakdown of the calls made to Aġenzija Appoġġ’s 179 supportline offers a rare glimpse into the world of the homeless in Malta.
“Many of the people who call us about homelessness will need advice on a place to rest, even just for the night, after spending time out on the streets,” Svetlana Camilleri, who runs the hotline service, told the Times of Malta.
The free hotline receives more than 10,000 calls a year reporting all sorts of problems, from domestic violence to financial struggles.
The 24-hour, free telephone service has been run by a team of professionally trained volunteers under the supervision of Appoġġ for the past 20 years.
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Ms Camilleri said many of the homeless people who resorted to the service had nowhere else to turn.
“We have people calling us who have been kicked out of shelters for bad behaviour. There are people who are blacklisted and face having nowhere to sleep,” she said.
Little is known about the experiences of homeless people in Malta, with research and media reports on the subject being few and far between.
A review of data held by various voluntary organisations last year showed that about 400 people a year ended up homeless, some temporarily, and were forced to seek shelter.
Ms Camilleri said that the majority of homeless callers were Maltese nationals, however a small number of foreigners also found out about the service and sought its help.
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At this time last year, a Somali man was found dead under a bridge in Marsa after a long stretch sleeping on the streets.
According to the data, around one in every five calls made to the hotline is either a hoax or the person hangs up.
And while the reasons for calling are vast, by far the most common complaint is loneliness.
Sheer loneliness drives thousands of people to call the emergency support hotline “just to have someone to talk to”.
A breakdown of all the calls made to the 179 support line since 2006 shows that people were 10 times more likely to call because they were lonely than because they faced problems related to drug or alcohol abuse.
Some 10,300 people called the number while feeling unbearably lonely, meaning that one in 10 of the 110,000 calls to the support line was prompted by loneliness.
Ms Camilleri said the phenomenon was particularly common around Christmas.
179 needs you
Aġenzija Appoġġ’s 179 supportline is desperately looking for more volunteers to man the phones.
Those interested in helping can send an e-mail to svetlana.camilleri@gov.mt or call on 2388 5110.
Applicants will be given training before being allowed to answer calls.