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served prison sentences, or are addicts and have been unable to break free from their habit. Sleeping in abandoned fac- tories surrounded by rats, or on bench- es, or in a bus shelter, summer and win- ter. One man described how he used to walk all night just to keep warm. It is a Catch 22 situation of first need- ing a place to live and then being able to apply for a job because without a fixed address you cannot do anything. During the programme it was made clear that there is a distinct link between mental health, unemployment and not having a home, especially with no close family relationships as a support sys- tem. Post-homelessness leads to even more problems, physical health issues and an increased mental health spiral, which can result in clinical depression or suicide attempts. Desperation leads some people to resort to crime or usury to pay their bills, creating an even more vicious circle. Just imagine for a minute not having a home to go back to at the end of the day. It would feel traumatic. Being homeless robs us of our identity and can crush our very soul. How did we get here? As was evident from this programme, the problem of homelessness is growing. What we have to examine is how we got here, and whether we are failing as a so- ciety to take care of our own. The out-of-control rents which some landlords are demanding are contribut- ing to this problem and that is a fact. So, unless there is a serious tightening up of the loopholes in rent regulation, we are bound to see more people being evicted. The loss of income is a major factor, which then inevitably leads to the loss of one's home either because one can- not pay the mortgage or the rent. If couples are in over their head with the loan they have taken out, it only takes one of them to lose their job to plunge them into financial crisis. Keeping up with the Joneses no longer seems so at- tractive when one is facing bankruptcy. As a culture we need to examine what we really mean by relationship goals, and whether this pressure to live up to social media expectations has created a monster which is swallowing us up and spitting us out. There are also very grave societal is- sues which need to be addressed. There is usually a chain of events which lead to someone ending up without a place to live, but in the past, because we all had a healthy network of family and friends these types of scary scenarios were largely avoided. People moved back in with their parents, and sometimes even siblings or extended family were willing to offer temporary accommodation un- til the person got back on their feet. But these days that safety net is being ripped apart and is full of holes, as more fami- lies become fractured because of divorce and what is worse, family members who are permanently estranged. That is why foreigners living here are more suscep- tible to ending up on the street, because many do not have any one to fall back on when things go wrong. Another crucial factor is upbringing. If you have been brought up in family dysfunction, chaos and instability the triggers of not being able to cope are al- ready there. Being raised in such an en- vironment often means one is unable to regulate one's emotions. The constant threat of poverty hanging over their head, which is often generational, then continues to further plunge these peo- ple into possible homelessness. There are other factors, of course, such as one's strength of character. After all, there are many people who have come up against very serious problems at one point or another in their lives, but have managed to power through with grit and determination and come out the other end with head held high. The reason some of us make it and others don't is hard to pinpoint. Why do some persevere against all odds while others crumble and are defeated? That is, indeed, the question. Of course, there is the other side of the coin. If someone receives their ben- efit cheque and still spends it on drugs it is difficult to feel sympathy. Those with a drug abuse problem are often not accepted at shelters, which is another problem. As pointed out during Popo- lin, having a specific shelter which takes in drug addicts might be the first step for them to enter a programme because as long as they are on the streets they will keep falling back into their addic- tion. You will also have those few who, de- spite being helped, still revert back to their comfort zone, returning to the fa- miliarity of living on the streets, because they do not want structure and disci- pline or being told what to do. But for those who are willing to be helped, who just need to take that first step to get back on a sure footing, there is help out there, and an impressive number of volunteers who are dedicat- ing their lives to alleviating the problem of homelessness. Undoubtedly, more can be done, and this is what the gov- ernment needs to spend our taxes on because it has a social responsibility to care for all its citizens, especially those who are forgotten, barely existing on the fringes of society. When I see public money being ear- marked and squandered on fancy pro- jects, I know where I would prefer that money to be spent on: More outreach programmes and more shelters, because no one should be out there sleeping on a bench, exposed to the elements or squatting in derelict buildings among scurrying rats. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 APRIL 2026 OPINION homeless people, so what happened? When I see public money being earmarked and squandered on fancy projects, I know where I would prefer that money to be spent on: More outreach programmes and more shelters, because no one should be out there sleeping on a bench, exposed to the elements or squatting in derelict buildings among scurrying rats.