Homelessness on the island is not limited to Bermudians as many people from overseas find themselves trapped and left with no option but to sleep on the streets.

According to the homeless charity Home, cases it has dealt with range from a prostitute brought to Bermuda from the Caribbean, people arrested at the airport who are bailed and left with nowhere to live and individuals promised a job that failed to materialise, leaving them stranded.

Denise Carey, the chief executive of Home, said: “We have properties we could be utilising for persons in transit, and we’re not.

“There needs to be a co-ordinated service provided to the non-Bermudians who find themselves in this situation.

“At the very least, we should be working with the respective consulates to return people safely to their home countries and ensure a safe transition to social housing, case management or financial assistance.

“This is why we say that homelessness is not a personal choice — it’s a system choice.”

Home said a woman from a Caribbean island was flown to Bermuda by a man who spent time with her and then failed to follow through on safely getting her home. In the end, Home stepped in to pay for her flight back.

Some individuals who have been arrested at the airport on entry into Bermuda have then been bailed and sometimes had to wait months to appear before a magistrate.

“They are not allowed to go anywhere, but they have nowhere to stay and they can’t work. They often have no funds, no access to banking and no phone,” said a spokesman for Home.

“The consulate for their country is often unable to help, and they do not have access to emergency housing, which is for Bermuda residents only. So, they are stuck.”

In another case, Home said one man came to Bermuda from overseas, having been promised a job, but when he arrived here, he found there was no job, and the person who had promised him work was not even living here.

“The man had given up his apartment and sold all of his furniture to come here and work. He had no return ticket, because he had been lead to believe he had a future of employment in Bermuda,” added the spokesman.

The charity said that two guest workers went on vacation and returned to Bermuda to find their landlord had moved out all their possessions and moved in another tenant.

The spokesman said: “Because the couple were here to work and save and had sent their savings back to their home country, they had no cash on hand to secure another apartment.

“And because of Bermuda’s housing shortage, there was nowhere available to house them temporarily. Also, there is no emergency shelter option in Bermuda that will accept couples.

“This type of situation has arisen from a growing trend of short-term leases. Guest workers, because of how difficult it is to find housing, have been willing to accept month-to-month tenancy agreements.

“This means that landlords can move them out at any point they choose, without the tenants’ knowledge.”

Home said sometimes foreign workers had spent their whole adult lives working in Bermuda, contributing to the island’s economy.

“When they reach 65, going back to retire in their home country can be very difficult for various reasons. Sometimes, their loved ones have died and they have lost touch with old friends.

“Effectively, Bermuda has become the only home they know, but they are not eligible for financial assistance or for support from the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

“They resort to living in a car, an abandoned building or outside, hiding from the authorities. In the worst-case scenarios, they die here.

“And in the absence of a relationship with a community partner, no organisation is obligated to take responsibility for arranging the death certificate, funeral or cremation, or for returning the ashes to the home country.”