In the early nineties Fr Leopoldo Tabone, a Capuchin Friar, had been the Chaplain of the Corradino Correctional Facilities for a number of years. During these years, he became aware that a substantial number of inmates were having problems of accommodation once they were released. In fact, he had experienced cases where ex-detainees had during the night called at his Convent asking to sleep there,
as they had nowhere to go. Although already in his seventies, Fr Leopoldo decided to do something about this pitiful state of affairs and he obtained the use of a house in Fgura, which he turned into a shelter for those homeless ex-detainees who needed help. He named the house ‘Welcome Home.’ During these early years, he was assisted by Mr. John Portelli, a senior citizen residing in the locality. The latter used to spend the day with the residents at the Home, whereas Fr Leopoldo would attend when he was free from his duties at the prison or the convent. During the night, the residents were usually left unsupervised. By 1998, both Fr Leopoldo and Mr Portelli were well advanced in years and needed help. The Capuchin Provincial at the time, Fr Crispin Tabone, approached a group of laity to re-structure the project in order to make it sustainable. The decision was to go for a formal structure and a Foundation was set up through a Public Deed published on the 28th October, 1999 and named Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem. Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem has the sole objective of providing shelter to homeless persons in Malta. Homelessness in Malta can take various forms and does not necessarily fit the stereotypical ideas that many of us may have, that is, people living on the streets in cardboard boxes or in doorways. From the outset the Foundation kept an open mind about homelessness, and it tried to read the signs of the times and respond to the realities that our society was experiencing. The Board always took a pragmatic approach by identifying a problem and designing a solution based on facts as opposed to just ideas. The Foundation had a difficult start as a few weeks after being set up, the house in Fgura was returned to the owner and the homeless project became homeless. In view of this, the Augustinian sisters offered their ex-convent in Gzira. The move of the project to Gzira was met with resistance from the community until they learnt that it was a project that could only add value to the community rather than diminish it. This new project was named after Fr Leopoldo, and it has now been running since 2000. Public funding increased for the project and additional staff were recruited. The facility offers services to a total of 18 males who for various reasons are rendered homeless. The Foundation was conscious of the fact that homelessness is not a male problem but effects women as well and in 2002 the second home opened its doors in Valletta to accommodate females and their children. Dar Teresa Spinelli has 15 beds and is named after the founder of the Augustinian order as a sign of appreciation for their support in offering the property in Gzira. A second contract was signed with a public agency and since then the home has offered shelter and security to hundreds of young teenage females, women and mothers with their children, who also find themsleves as homeless for varying reasons. In 2005 the migration issue took the island by storm and the wave of migrants landing in Malta created big pressures on the basic services offered at the time. Public services needed organisations that were able to respond fast and adequately to this problem. Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem was once again charged to run the first Open Centre in Marsa. In a few days a contract was drawn up and the Foundation became the major player from the voluntary sector in this area of social welfare for migrants. The challenges were huge, and this facility grew to a staggering 1000 residents in a couple of weeks, coming from different countries and professing different religions. This contribution of the Foundation was an important milestone in the history of migration in Malta however the responsibility slowed down the development of the Foundation in other areas. For this reason, in 2010 the project was transferred to another NGO which was set up specifically to run the Open Centre in Marsa. By now the project was a growing concern and therefore the new NGO could build on the work that had been done in the previous 5 years. The attitudes towards people with mental health issues started to change and society was increasingly becoming conscious that psychiatric conditions are like any other illness that can affect anyone of us and that persons suffering from mental health difficulties, needed compassion and support and not isolation. The public policy strategy of having services in the community was catching ground and the idea of having community homes for people suffering from psychiatric conditions was floated. Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem responded pro-actively, it read the signs of the times, committed itself to contribute and the first contract was signed with Mt Carmel Hospital to move a group of male patients from the hospital to the community. The Foundation procured a house in Albertown which incidentally was also an ex-convent, and the facility became active in 2006 offering 13 beds. Social workers and care workers were employed and a new chapter in the history of the Foundation commenced. The experience proved so successful that the Foundation procured a second house in Albertown to offer more beds to males with mental health difficulties and enabling them to live in the community. With funding from the Malta Community Chest Fund, Dar Frangisk became active in December of 2013, offering 5 new beds. The first resident was admitted in January 2014. The success of Dar Victiora and Dar Frangisk to re-integrate clients back into society led the Foundation to even more progression, with another facility opening in 2018. Dar Imelda u Paul Debono in Birkirkara was donated to the Foundation by Mrs Imelda & Mr Paul Debono and it houses 14 females coming from the mental health sector. The Foundation believes that a holistic approach to deal with clients leads to the best results, as such a multi-disciplinary team has been built along the years comprising of psychology graduates, social workers and care workers. The Foundation also believes in the importance of continuous education and supports its employees to pursue higher levels of education in specialised areas such as Business Administration, Community Action & Development, Psychotherapy and Addictions. The mission at Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem is: To effectively bring changes in the lives of homeless persons, enabling them to be reintegrated back into society. The current chairperson of the Foundation is Dr Marique Sciberras.
