When Renald Mallia was 14 he ran away from home and started living on the streets, sleeping in buses and washing himself in public toilets.

The chaotic street life felt more like home than living with his mother who had put him in a home, which had expelled him for misbehaving.

"When I was a few days old I was taken to a home. From there I was fostered by several families but they kicked me out because of my behaviour. I ended up back in the residential home from where I was kicked out at 14. I went back to my mother but could not stick it for long. I never felt safe, so I left," he said.

Mr Mallia, now 32, recounted his story during a business breakfast entitled Homeless People and Asylum People. He wanted to let people know homeless people existed in Malta and needed support.

He explained that when he left his mother's house, he started hanging around with the wrong crowd and ended up doing heavy drugs.

"I took drugs to get my mind off things. I didn't care about anything... I lived life without consequences," he said.

This attitude landed him in trouble with the police who initially guided him to a drug rehabilitation home. But he left the home after a while and was back on the streets.

Eventually, after an unsuccessful marriage that was annulled, he met a woman who encouraged him to seek help.

He started attending rehabilitation again, found a job and rented his own apartment.

But, when his relationship with the woman ended, he started feeling alone and took drugs again.

He lost his job and apartment and returned to living on the streets.

"I did what I had to do to survive... And I was arrested," he said. This time he ended up in prison for the first time and the courts ordered him to attend Dar Patri Leopoldo, a home for adolescents and men run by Suret Il-Bniedem foundation.

"There I found support and freedom all rolled into one... I could speak to others about what I was going through... I realised I was capable of doing many things. I have a job... I finally said no to drugs. I see life differently now...

"My only fear is my pending court case... I fear I will end up in jail and lose everything I worked for," he said.

Charles Mifsud, who runs Dar Patri Leopoldo, spoke about the "invisible" reality of homelessness in Malta. He said there was a lack of services for homeless teenagers who ended up on the streets.

He also called on the law courts to be sensitive when handing down bail conditions, by not imposing unreasonable curfews, to ensure people were allowed to work while out on bail.