Bermuda pays a heavy price for tolerating homelessness. The less we do as a community to address the issue, the more it costs us—financially, as well as in terms of human misery and social upheaval.

So said HOME CEO & Executive Director Denise Carey during a panel discussion on homelessness organised by Bermuda Is Love. “We pay to do nothing about homelessness,” she told the audience at Bermuda College. By allowing so many people to have no place to call home, we inevitably place extra strain on social services, the criminal justice system, and the health system, she added.

Carey cited statistics released in July this year by the Bermuda Hospitals Board, which showed 25 acute-care beds at King Edward VII were occupied by people fit to go home, but their discharge had been delayed, because they had no safe place to go. As Carey noted, at $1,000 per person per day, the cost of 20 beds blocked in this way would amount to $600,000 a month—or enough to buy a house within two months.

More economic damage is caused by the sheer waste of human potential, as people experiencing homelessness exist outside the system, with no job, bank account, regular income, or access to basic services. Without those things, the ability to be a productive citizen is effectively denied.

HOME works closely with helping agencies in the public and third sectors and with its clients to restore those essential elements, as well as to create opportunities for employment and long-term accommodation. By collaborating with other agencies, HOME helps individuals gain access to the services they need to prevent them falling back into homelessness.

Joining Carey on the panel were Tinee Furbert, Minister of Seniors & Social Development; Paul Martin, General Manager of Bermuda Housing Corporation; and Nicholas Darceuil, Director of Operations at Dignity House. One pertinent question from the audience was why Bermuda, among the richest places on Earth by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, should have a homelessness issue.

Carey said HOME had identified 650 people, or about 1% of the population, as being homeless in Bermuda in 2022—a relatively high proportion by international standards. Homelessness had not been a priority for Bermuda, she added, and all of us will need to come together to work towards a solution. Key requirements are:

• Data: accurate information on how many people are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and a housing inventory to inform strategies to end homelessness
• A multidisciplinary, coordinated, wrap-around approach to case management to help individuals transition to a more stable life
• Shift in focus away from temporary shelter and towards finding long-term accommodation.

Technology is already available to support the necessary whole-system approach, in the form of HOME’s cloud-based case-management system, which is capable of allowing multiple agencies to share information—with the permission of individuals using their services. Carey explained the vision: when someone finds themselves homeless, there is “one front door,” rather than a need to contact multiple agencies separately. The strategy creates a system map for agencies to work as one to address each individual’s needs.

Minister Furbert agreed the current situation was inefficient, with different agencies often conducting their own assessments separately. There was a need, she said, for a one-stop hub, comprising a collaborative and coordinated approach, together with the Government’s intentional efforts to provide housing to those in need of it. The Government is a committed stakeholder in the soon-to-be-finalised Plan to End Homelessness, she added, alongside many public, private and non-profit organisations.

Martin said the BHC had a waiting list of more than 120 families seeking a home and was working on refurbishments that would add 77 units to its stock of affordable housing in the coming years. He said housing alone was not enough—it was equally important for individuals to receive the services they needed to maintain stability.

Mental-health issues are both a cause and consequence of homelessness and Darceuil stressed the importance of access to mental-health services. Some 45% of people experiencing homelessness in the UK have been diagnosed with mental issues and that proportion rises to 80% among rough sleepers, according to Crisis, the UK homeless charity.

Some also have addiction issues that require ongoing rehabilitation, Darceuil added. Without it, people enter the hospital for treatment, go out into the world with no coping skills and no support system, and then are likely to end up back in the hospital.

Carey concluded by saying Bermuda has started upon a life-changing journey to end homelessness and there is no turning back. She encouraged everyone in Bermuda to spend time educating themselves about homelessness, to research how it is being addressed worldwide and to understand more about the hundreds of people without a place to call home in Bermuda.

HOME would like to thank all the panelists and Bermuda Is Love for making possible an informative discussion that helped shine a spotlight on the effort to end homelessness.