He's lived in a tent for the past three years, but Andrew Laws isn't so worried about himself — he's more concerned about the many young men following the same path of destruction he's been down.

A recovering drug addict, Mr. Laws says he's making the most of a bad situation.

In his small tent behind TCD, there's a television, kettle and small heater, all powered by a car battery, and a settee that wouldn't look out of place in many people's front rooms.

The 52-year-old takes pride in his tent being neater than others in the area, and is reminded how things could be worse every time he passes the numerous smashed up cars many of his neighbours call home.

He's not saying he doesn't get depressed — it's just that the Island has more pressing problems than his own, illustrated when he visits the Salvation Army and meets more and more young men who've lost their way.

"It's not about me," he told The Royal Gazette. "It's about the youngsters. We need to help them to make sure they don't fall down the same paths as me.

"Recently I have been surprised to see so many youngsters where they serve the food."

Mr. Laws was talking to this newspaper as part of its Up Your Street series looking at life in communities across the Island.

He and others in Pembroke East Central pointed to issues with homelessness and job shortages — both of which people say are exacerbated by an influx of foreign workers.

Mr. Laws said foreigners accept lower wages, leaving Bermudian workers on the scrapheap, while they are prepared to live in extremely cramped conditions, meaning landlords can squeeze more cash out of them collectively than locals.

On one street, large numbers of Sri Lankans are crowded into two-or three-bedroom properties, according to residents.

Mr. Laws said: "The back of town has always been lower class people. Has it got worse in the last few years? Hell yes. The cost of living is higher, you can't get no job.

"They say the kids don't want to work. My main job is painting. I'm used to making $20 an hour, but some of the foreigners will take $12 an hour, so they will get the job instead."

Mr. Laws earns some money hustling, particularly as a cleaner at local shops, but nowhere near enough to move out of his tent. "Some people have nowhere to go," he said. "You see a lot of people sleeping in cars, but here I have everything I need. I have made the best of a bad situation.

"I almost gave up. I felt like giving up many times. Sometimes my self-esteem is high, sometimes it's low. Many times I don't feel like waking up, but I try to keep my head high.

"It's a struggle because I'm trying to get clean. There's depression. I would love to have a steady job but most employers don't want to give that to me.

"But survival is what it's all about. I might not live in the best conditions, but I try and make myself as comfortable as possible."

Like many, he believes the failing education system is causing today's young people to drop out of the system. "Years ago when I was in school, every Wednesday I went on day release and worked on spray painting. But these kids don't know how to do anything," he said. "How can they get a job when they don't even know how to use a saw? They have got stories that will make you cry."

Constituency 16 has been in the headlines so often for gang-related trouble that many young people say it's easy to get labelled as troublemakers even when they're not.

"A lot of people don't have jobs so it's hard for them to find things to do and they end up passing the time hanging around the street," one young man said.

"Any group bigger than four is seen as a gang. They might not be doing anything wrong, but people will look at them and think they're a gang. "But I don't see much trouble round here. You hear about it and things do happen, but that doesn't mean everyone's involved."

Another contentious issue over the years has been Pembroke Dump. Calls for the area to be turned into a park have long fallen on deaf ears, but most residents speaking to this newspaper seemed to think such ideas were unrealistic anyway.

But at least they are relieved the garbage is no longer piled so high as in 2007, when it was dubbed Mount Everest by families and ended up self-igniting and burning in a massive fire for several days.

One man whose home overlooks the dump said: "That was bad. There was soot everywhere after that. But it doesn't get so high any more. Maybe they have learned their lesson."

Next week's Up Your Street will visit Sandys South. Residents from that constituency who want to give their thoughts on local issues should e-mail tsmith@royalgazette.bm.

H3> Area MP highlights government services to help Pembroke East Central residents

Help is out there for those who need it, MP Michael Weeks yesterday reminded people struggling in his Pembroke East Central constituency.

With growing numbers of residents unable to get jobs and reduced to living in tents and smashed up old cars, Mr. Weeks pointed to the value of Government's Financial Assistance Department, Labour and Training Department and Bermuda Housing Corporation.

"We have to get the message out there to the people who need it that we have helping agencies," Mr. Weeks told The Royal Gazette.

Regarding Labour and Training, he said: "The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs [Senator David Burch] has said when places like Elbow Beach close down they look to hire a Bermudian first.

"It makes it easier if you put your name down so you can have first dibs on the jobs that become available."

He said the Financial Assistance Department was designed to help those with the most severe money difficulties, while people in need of homes could put their names on the BHC waiting list.

Mr. Weeks said a number of projects are on the way to help people in his constituency, which some have described as the most hard-up and gang-plagued area in the Country.

The most imminent will be an attempt to ease fear of crime by introducing street lights in dark areas.

Mr. Weeks is the Island's newest MP, having replaced the late Nelson Bascome in the Progressive Labour Party stronghold last August.

Since then there has been a string of shootings as the Island's gun problems have soared.

"It's been a learning experience," he said. "I have been trying to answer the cry from people and direct them to helping agencies, trying to comfort where I can and reassure them about the situation."