New charitable trust launched for halfway-house for men

A new charitable trust was launched last week to raise funds for Bridge House, a half-way house for men who need help during difficult times.

The charity, called Bridge House Charitable Trust, will run the facility and was launched at a reception at King David Hall during which Chief Minister Fabian Picardo appealed for assistance to help fund the project.

He explained that the Government would provide the building, which has been valued at over two million pounds.

“Because as that logo suggests, what we're trying to do is create a place of stability for men who may be in transition,” he said.

“And to do that, we need to create a place that will effectively be a sanctuary for those men who are going through that difficult period.”

“You haven't seen anyone so determined as Pat Orfila [the Minister for Housing] in the cabinet trying to get her hands on a property.”

And he added: “We need your help to turn this two-million-pound asset into a facility that Gibraltar can be proud.”

Mr Picardo reflected on how the project, even before it was under way, had garnered positive media attention in Spain when it was first announced.

“In the midst of treaty negotiations, with Spain saying things about Gibraltar that are not true, as we know, which is not something that we are not used to, one minister launched a project that caught the imagination of the Spanish media,” he said.

“For once the Spanish media were not turning up with their cameras to call us pirates, to say that we were involved in A, B, C, or D which we shouldn't be involved in.”

“They were saying Gibraltar's doing something that Spain doesn't do and we need to learn from Gibraltar.”

Ms Orfila explained the reason behind Bridge House and said that since taking office as the Minister for Housing, she has held clinics and met numerous men who told her of the challenges they had faced after divorcing or separating from their partners.

The common refrain was a struggle to make ends meet.

“They have to pay maintenance, they have to be utility bills, some of you probably know what I'm talking about, but to top it all they have to paid high rental,” she said.

“And of course in the open market the rental can be anything from £800 to 1£1500. And that can be daunting for anybody on ordinary wages.”

While many of these men approach her for a house, it would be unfair to allow them to jump the queue as a result of their circumstances, however difficult.

“There was a need to look after these men. And I mean, we've all got brothers or uncles or grandparents and fathers, etc who have probably gone through this, or friends,” she said.

“And these are the people that we need to help.”

“Not everybody can afford 1,500 or 1,200 for a bedsit.”

In a bid to resolve the problem, she spoke to her fellow cabinet members about a building she had her eye on, which after some persuasion she was given.

“After I got to the building, I thought now we have to turn this into a place for men to come and transition from their old life to their new life,” she said.

“This is why when you look at the logo, it's a bridge, it's called Bridge House, there is a man walking on a bridge towards a house. Underneath that bridge there are turbulent waters.”

“These are the turbulent times that you go through when your life is totally disrupted for whatever reason and you find yourself out in the cold.”

The town planning application for the property will be debated by the Development and Planning Commission this Thursday.