Minister for Social Accommodation Roderick Galdes announced the first intergenerational housing project in Malta.
This project, established by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Housing Authority and Salesians Don Bosco, will start in a few weeks, and will aid elderly residents and young people with social challenges and a need for alternative housing living in the same building.
Abandoned for years, the building, which is located on West Street in Valletta, was finally restored by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, and now consists of 23 sizable apartments and decent-sized common areas.
The elderly will fill 80% of the apartments in the building, whilst the young people who will be allocated the rest of the apartments will be the ones who show the greatest motivation to participate and contribute to the community programme.
Such a programme, Minister Roderick Galdes said, continues to build on the government’s approach towards housing, which goes beyond ensuring a housing unit and is complemented with the necessary tools and services to address the challenges and the social needs of the person. Whilst addressing loneliness, a major scourge among the elderly population and which weakens mental health, this programme also helps in building a community and paving the way for young people to autonomous and independent living.
While all residents will have their own private apartment equipped with all the amenities for independent living, including a kitchen, common spaces will help to create a community among the residents by providing space for social activities, internet usage, workshops and a library.
In this programme, the Housing Authority is collaborating with Salesians Don Bosco. In fact, members of the religious order will supervise and mentor the youth residents in the programme so that, through their contribution to the daily life of the community, they will address their challenges and acquire the necessary skills for autonomous and independent living.
The Housing Authority’s CEO Leonid McKay spoke about the regeneration of a once derelict building, enabling the Housing Authority to reduce the waiting list by offering different alternatives. He focused on the social mix, including persons of different age groups, a key element of the programme. He underlined the Housing Authority’s experimenting with the mix of social and affordable rents in the same building, which will be based according to the residents’ income following the new allocation policy. He concluded by saying that the ultimate goal remains for the project to include intergenerational activities and collaboration between residents in the same building.
Minister Galdes explained how this initiative is part of a series of innovative measures, through which the Housing Authority has reduced by half the number of applicants for alternative accommodation.
“Through this project, we are achieving various goals. The waiting list will not only continue to decline, but these two groups will be helping each other. It brings people from different ages and backgrounds together, and together they will build a community which will serve as a positive experience for both,” concluded Minister Roderick Galdes.
