The Chamber of Commerce has called a meeting with Minister of Public Safety, Randy Horton and Hamilton Mayor, Lawson Mapp to raise members' concerns at the growing number of vagrants in downtown Hamilton and Par-la-Ville Park.

So-called “aggressive vagrants” have sparked appeals by the business community to have them removed.

The Chamber's Dianne Gordon said she had witnessed an incident near the bus terminal where a vagrant was “harassing a little old lady” which only made it more important to address the issue.

“They're becoming more aggressive and some people are actually scared of them,” she said.

During a lunch-time walk through Hamilton, The Royal Gazette was stopped once on Queen Street by a vagrant asking for money, while along Burnaby Street another was rummaging through a public garbage bin.

Mr. Mapp agreed that the situation with vagrants in the city was one that needed to be addressed.

“Many sleep in the parks, around City Hall and other public places which is a growing problem,” he said.

Mr. Mapp said while the Salvation Army was working hard at trying to house and feed vagrants, it did not always work in keeping them off the streets during the day time.

“They don't want to be told what to do,” he said.

He said the problem was only aggravated by the fact that many washed cars for money which they spent on alcohol instead of food.

When asked what possible solution he had, Mr. Mapp said a local charity, the Eliza Doolitte Society was currently raising funds in order to find a building to act as a day-time home for many.

The Society has been calling on Government for years to fund a homeless shelter that would provide vagrants with a place to stay. Last night chairperson Margaret Vaucrosson said that at any given time there were about 200 people living on the streets of Hamilton at night.

There are also an estimated 300 homeless people living in the West End and another 200 in the East End.

The Eliza Doolittle Society has been trying for the past five years to establish some kind of “drop-in-centre” where the homeless can go during the day.

Mrs. Vaucrosson said while she appreciated the work the Salvation Army did by offering the homeless emergency housing at night, by “kicking them out” at 8 a.m. in the morning, they were only contributing towards the problem.

She said when they left the Salvation Army they had no choice but to sit on the streets and parks of Hamilton.

“The only other social service we have for these people is prison. They don't belong there and when they get out many of them just return to the streets,” she said.

While begging is illegal in Bermuda, Mrs. Vaucrosson said the Police never acted unless a member of the public complained. If they did, the beggar would simply end up going to jail. “It's a vicious circle many of them can never get out of,” she said.

However, Mrs. Vaucrosson was quick to point out that many “homeless” people in Bermuda were in fact earning money, just not enough to afford rent or buy food.

“To get assistance from Government, you need a permanent address. It's a catch-22 situation for many people which is why a drop in centre is so crucial.”

The drop-in-centres would be based loosely on the old YMCA idea, would not only offer the homeless a place to go during the day, but would also offer accommodation at a very fair price, allow the society to continue with its feeding programme and offer secure storage facilities for those who carried all their possessions around with them.

However, she said, nothing would happen until Government admitted there was a problem and addressed it.

The Salvation Army is the only other organisation in Bermuda that offers a daily feeding programme for the homeless.

Mrs. Vaucrosson said the car washing idea was a legitimate business for many people.

“They had their regular customers and they were making enough money to buy food, but because others, with social problems like drug and alcohol addiction, became aggressive towards people, it was prohibited. Now many of these legitimate car washers have no way of making money,” she said.

She said the drop-in-centres would also look at possible employment opportunities for many, but until they could assess many of the people living on the street - they could not help them.

The feeding programme offered by the Eliza Doolittle Society costs on average about $500,000 a year.

“We feed about 200 people a day,” she said. “At any given time in your life you'll need a hand-up, not a hand-out and that's what we're all about,” she said.