Seniors and caregivers face levels of need “greater than ever before”, Age Concern Bermuda has announced, with queries on housing and shelter on the rise this year.

The seniors’ charity fielded 1,500 queries since April 1 at a time when donations dropped by more than 50 per cent.

Mercedes Pringle-DeSilva, ACB’s executive director, added that the agency was taking a lot of calls about its hardship fund, which fell short last year of its hoped $100,000 in fundraising.

“We would have liked to get there, but in the end we distributed $55,000 to $60,000 in hardship support,” she told The Royal Gazette.

“Our high-end goal was $100,000, and for this year it’s the same — we try to go big or go home.

“But it’s definitely down this year as well. The need hasn’t changed. We still get calls coming in. It’s just that we might not have the money. As requests come in, that’s the hard truth.”

She added: “We have maxed out our food support for the last two months. Right now if someone calls for emergency support, we would not be able to help them.”

ACB’s hardship fund includes donations in kind from large businesses to cover needs in electric, gas and grocery support.

However, ACB said, it faced “reduced availability of corporate donations” as businesses reviewed their budgets in line with “challenging economic headwinds”.

“ACB is well supported by our community but has seen donations slow by more than 50 per cent, which is challenging to manage at a time when operating expenses are also rising,” a statement from the charity added.

“Sustainable cashflow management is vital for charitable organisations in Bermuda to retain the skill set and capabilities to develop and support the programmes that our clients are availing themselves of.”

ACB’s strategic plan for 2023-26, which was implemented in March, comes with more education programmes to help clients navigate healthcare and government support programmes.

Ms Pringle-DeSilva said: “A lot of what people come to ask us about are topics we could give to them in advance. We also speak to some of our ministries to get their ideas. Popular topics are benefits and entitlement, and financial planning.”

The charity said that the island’s cost of living and budgeting had stood at “the forefront” of seniors’ concerns in 2022-23, followed by healthcare and caregiving, and housing.

Overall queries since the new fiscal year began on April 1 covered topics from legal advice, caregiving inquiries, abuse reports and health or medical advice.

Ms Pringle-DeSilva said the high number of questions coming to Age Concern was in keeping with last year, when the charity took a total of about 3,000 queries.

The charity said demand was on the rise from clients requesting education and support with navigating the healthcare and government access systems.

Age Concern offered educational sessions typically attended by about 250 people at a time on “issues that are important for ageing successfully”.

This summer also saw the launch of educational sessions with the Bermuda Long-Term Care Peer Learning Network, with the support of Age Concern.

The BPLN, created last year, has brought together 13 administrators of long-term care facilities to boost education, training and information exchange.

Ms Pringle-DeSilva said recent education sessions offered by the group had covered physiotherapy and occupational therapy, with another given this week on infection control.

The charity is looking now towards October 1, which marks the International Day of the Older Person, to kick-start its fundraising.

Age Concern will hold a tag day throughout Hamilton on October 5 and 6, and donation buckets will be out at the charity’s various business partners across the island for both days.

Donations can also be made online via the charity’s website — and supporters can e-mail info@ageconcern.bm or call 238-7525.