On mental health and homelessness

Abstract

It has often been described as the island of ‘sun and blue skies’. So it is, with our long lazy summers and a short winter that, at its worst, still allows the sun to smile through on most days. The people of Malta have been portrayed as being friendly, generous, witty and loud – even our car horns seem to exceed the acceptable decibel range, especially when honked in the middle of the night to express righteous indignation! Yet beneath this vibrant carnival of colours and expressions lies a somewhat sordid reality that is still relatively unexplored, partly due to a lack of awareness but perhaps also brought about by a tendency to ‘sweep dirt underneath the carpet’, ignore that which bothers, make-do and trudge along. Alas, over the recent years, a number of factors, especially the rise of the social media empire, have given a voice to those who have been mute for long decades. Two notorious issues that have slowly but surely crept out of their hiding place are those of mental health and homelessness. Typically addressed as separate areas, both have been traditionally placed at the bottom rank of the societal ladder, best dealt with by donning a pair of blinkers and focusing on the more glamorous aspects of life, thus effectively rendering these issues invisible. Mostly, invisibility refers to limited resources, in particular financial and human ones, that are specifically dedicated to address such causes.