Volunteers’ transport scheme to tackle social exclusion in Sliema

A pilot project to be launched in Sliema on Tuesday will seek to develop a community-based response to the needs of vulnerable elderly people in order to reduce social exclusion.

Key elements of the "Volunteer Sliema" project, organised by SOS Malta in partnership with Core Platform, involve the development of a community transport scheme and a local volunteer network of 20 to 30 volunteers in order to promote the mobility of elderly and disabled people. It also seeks to establish a local stakeholder network to support the implementation of the scheme.

“This flagship project, celebrating 25 years of SOS Malta, will seek to ensure vulnerable elderly and people with a physical disability feel more mobile and able to access health care and essential services, as well as engage in leisure and community activities,” the NGO said in a statement. “Additionally, the project will seek to provide emotional support to these groups of people through the creation of a Community Volunteers Network.”

The project will build upon both the existing VolServ project and Tal-Kultura – the volunteer programme for Valletta 2018, which currently together have approximately 500 volunteers.