The history of the Order of Malta goes back to the 11th century. Their motto: "Defence of the Faith and assistance to the poor" has not changed for more than nine hundred years.  

The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta (HCSOM) was founded in 1989. By today HCSOM is one of the largest NGOs in Hungary and designs its projects to be present in the lives of vulnerable societal groups, providing assistance to those in need; the sick, the elderly, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the homeless, segregated communities, refugees, pilgrims, and victims of disasters and wars.  HCSOM helps them by offering acceptance and diverse activities adapted to their needs via maintaining a nationwide network of institutions for the homeless, the elderly, the disabled and vulnerable families. 

The Hungarian organisation has 5000 regular and 15000 casual volunteers, who regularly assist HCSOM with its activities, sharing a long-term commitment to people in need. Their work has highly contributed to the fact that HCSOM has become one of the major and most effective welfare organisations in Hungary with a national centre and 7 regional directorates.  

HCSOM provides social services to a wide variety of beneficiaries:

• institutional services (e.g.: homeless shelters, nursing homes and supported living facilities for people with disabilities, soup-kitchens, temporary shelters, medical treatment centres)
• implements innovative programs based on personal presence (integration programs, Inclusive Village Program, Presence Program, field-based support models). 

The Maltese organization was the first in Hungary to produce glasses for homeless people, open the first wheelchair repair workshop, and introduced home care services with an alarm system. Programs and pilot projects of HCSOM seek practical solutions to serious social problems. Many of its innovative solutions have received significant recognition:

• the Presence program, which creates new opportunities for people living in disadvantaged communities, was acknowledged with the Hungarian Heritage Award in 2016
• the telemedicine program, which re-established healthcare in small settlements without family doctors- was recognized in 2024 with the Regiostars Award- as the best program of its kind in Europe.  

Due to its domestic and international initiatives HCSOM has gained a vast experience both in Hungary and in the Central East European region, in elaborating and implementing methods to provide effective and long-lasting support for the most disadvantaged people.  

HCSOM is also successful in establishing collaboration with different types of institutions: local communities, municipalities, ministries, expert groups, labour offices, schools and kindergardens. 

HCSMO established its Methodological Working Group addressing the most pressing challenges of elderly care, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease to share innovative professional responses, best practices, and research results providing professional support for caregivers as well as raising awareness risk factors by regularly publishing information and educational materials on their website. It is also committed to developing community-based services for people with disabilities, primarily through the operation of supported living facilities. 

Recently the Methodological Working Group launched its Dementia Coordination Pilot Program, in which 17 professionals from 14 institutions are participating.  

The aim of the initiative is to develop the competencies necessary for dementia care locally in the participating institutions and to support everyday care with new, person-centred methods in order that staff members could expand their knowledge through in-person training days and online training sessions, as well as individual and group mentoring.  

The program places a strong emphasis on interprofessional collaboration, improving communication, and deepening a dementia-centred approach to care. At the end of the pilot program, the experiences of the participating institutions and the practical results will be made available in the form of a handbook and a collection of case studies. 

We heartily welcome the Methodological Working Group of HCSOM in our stakeholder network! We look forward to our collaboration! Together we can bring in new skills and best practises to enhance healthcare advances to positively impact dementia patients their families and carers' life. 

To learn more about the Order of Malta and HCSOM visit: https://maltai.hu/  and https://modszertan.maltai.hu