A major hurdle that has to be overcome in any analysis of Bermuda's poor is the fact that they do not exist in the perceptions of too many Bermudians.

If one were to carry out a man in the street survey on the state of Bermuda's poor, one would probably hear these kinds of responses: “Nobody needs to be poor in Bermuda”, “Anyone who wants to work can get a job”, or “They say they are poor but they can still go on buying trips to the US”, or further still, “They could work if they wanted too. All they need to do is to get off drugs and alcohol”.

I am certain there is some factual basis for all of the above statements, however, the question remains: “Are there Bermudians that do not fit in any of the above stereotypes but who are struggling to meet the basic requirements for survival - food, shelter and health care?” My admittedly limited research suggests that Bermuda certainly has a significantly large poor population and that it is growing in absolute terms.

Who are the poor? A general definition was just stated. Government's Department of Statistics provides a more revealing definition. It defines “poor” households as those earning less than $36,000 per annum.

“Near poor” households were defined as those households earning less between $36,000 and $45,000 per annum. According to the Census 2000, the poor, as defined, included 19 percent of all households while the near poor included 11 percent.

Thus, a very significant 30 percent of all Bermuda households were characterised as “poor” or “near poor” according to the Census 2000. Since Bermuda households in private dwellings numbered 24,761 in the year 2000, we can say that 7,428 were in the classification of “poor or near poor”. So much for the oft stated inaccuracy “all Bermudians are well off”.

Interestingly enough, this statistic has not improved overall since the previous census taken in 1991. Since the number of households grew by 12 percent over the period, if follows that the number of poor or near poor households have also grown by 12 percent over the decade since 1991.

There are interesting differences within the statistical groupings. Census 2000 indicates that the proportion of poor or near poor households, headed by black residents, form 32 percent of all black households.

This is slightly lower than the 34 percent recorded in 1991. A surprising finding for many, I am certain, is the fact that the proportion of poor or near households headed by a white resident rose over the decade from 23 percent to 25 percent.

When we take into consideration the fact that white households include a very large proportion of the relatively well paid guest workers, the size of the number of “poor whites” defies some commonly held perceptions.

There are other interesting facts. Unsurprisingly, a significant 37 percent of one parent households were characterised as poor or near poor in Census 2000. However, this statistic was a marked improvement from the 50 percent in this condition in Census year 1991.

The serious losers in the group analysis were the elderly. Among households aged 65 or older, some 50 percent were in the poor and near poor categories in Census 2000 even though this was an improvement from the 56 percent recorded in the Census 1991.

Half of all households headed by a person aged 65 or older are poor or near poor. Of this proportion, 40 percent are simply poor. This percentage included 1,774 households in Census 2000, and this is certainly no laughing matter.

From the foregoing, it is clear that it needs to be emphasised that few of our seniors fit into any of the anecdotal categories described at the opening of this analysis. They cannot compete in the bountiful job market because most of them have passed the age of compulsory retirement.

But even if a minority do manage to find employment, they are not likely to have the training and education required in today's job market to get well paying jobs.

They are poor by any standard that one chooses to apply.

As unfortunate as we find the problem of the seniors, the statistics conceal the human suffering that is involved. Some insight has been thrown on this issue by Carol Everson who has been investigating the plight of war veterans who served in the Bermuda Militia.

Ms Everson is a musician who also serves part-time with the Regiment Band. She got involved with the problem of the retired war veteran as a result of trying to obtain information about Joseph William Levon, a deceased drummer with the Bermuda Militia.

Mr. Levon fought at Rheims and Dieppe in the First World War and also served in the Second World War. In the course of her investigation, Carol talked too many men who served with Mr. Levon and through these interviews, she became aware of the circumstances “in which some of them were living and the challenges that old age, and in some cases, sickness and poverty had brought to them”.

She was so engrossed with her findings that she carefully documented several cases and passed this information on to the appropriate officials of the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the War Veterans Association.

She also provided government officials with her analysis of the War Pensions Act which was supposed to provide for these veterans when they were demobilised.

However, as a result of the racism that existed in Bermuda's so-called “happier days”, few black soldiers, if any, were able to access the benefits of this legislation.

Ms Everson went on to describe the living conditions of these men who offered their lives to protect their country. She examined in detail the living conditions of six of these veterans.

Most were chronically ill, some required oxygen pumps and supplies for asthma, and all had the greatest difficulty in meeting the cost of rent.

In some cases, there was an ageing caregiver who was a member of the household who also required medical care that she could ill afford. All in all the stories were enough to bring tears to the eyes of even a hardboiled political campaigner like myself.

I hope that the Ministry of Health and Social Services will take the lead in investigating the plight of Bermuda's War Veterans and in the process, also undertake a searching analysis of the general problems of the poor.

I hope that the above review will encourage all Bermudians to take the blinkers of their eyes and pay serious attention to the problems of ageing. As I have stated in many previous articles, Bermuda's seniors are the fastest growing population segment.

Further, they are also among the poorest of all households. Increased numbers, reduced income and rising health care costs are the daily concerns of this population which is clearly not benefiting from the current boom. In fact, the boom is causing additional suffering.

Incomes of seniors have been reduced by retirement and the competition of some non-Bermudians for the low skilled jobs. At the same time, they are finding it more and more difficult to obtain adequate, affordable shelter because of the competition of non-Bermudians for this item.

This problem is a time bomb waiting to explode all over us all. If there was ever a reason for Bermudians of all races, religion and gender to put aside their differences to solve a common problem, the difficulties of the ageing population certainly qualifies.

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