On Friday, November 14, 2025, PROMISE, in collaboration with the Anti-Poverty Forum (APF) organised its first conference, focused on homelessness, titled A Place to Call Home: Reimagining Homelessness.

Hosted at Verdala Palace under the auspices of HE Dr. Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta, the conference brought together over 120 participants to confront a stark reality: in a society experiencing rapid economic growth, too many are being left behind without a place to call home.

The conference started with introductory speeches by Dr. Sandra Scicluna, Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing,  Mr. Noel Xerri, Chair of the APF and Prof. Valerie Sollars, Pro-Rector of the University of Malta. 

Dr. Nóra Teller, from the European Observatory on Homelessness, and Elisabetta Leni from Y-Foundation (Finland) gave two powerful key note presentations, whilst Prof. Sue Vella, presented a comprehensive overview of the current situation in Malta. 

The conference also included a panel discussion with a number of different speakers bringing their own angle to the discussion. Moderated by Mark Lawrence Zammit, the panel consisted of : Anthony Camilleri (CEO, YMCA); Isabella Farrugia (Appoġġ Homelessness Service); Jake Azzopardi (CEO, Affordable Housing Foundation); Mariella Mendez (Executive Head, Affordable Housing, Housing Authority); Claudio Farrugia (CEO, Malta Co-operative Federation); Dr. Kurt Xerri (Senior Lecturer, Dept of Civil Law, University of Malta). 

The attendees had the opportunity to share their thoughts, concerns and suggestions on possible solutions through workshops. solutions. The collaborative result was the Verdala Declaration on Homelessness 2025, a landmark document approved by all present.