CRISIS looms for struggling charities which are being forced to limit their services to those in need because of a lack of money and volunteers.

Voluntary workers told the Mid-Ocean News that their helping organisations were being overstretched and that the community was allowing valuable resources to go to waste.

Most said more helpers and donations were desperately needed as demands on their services grew.

Hardest hit appears to be the Family Resource Network Charitable Trust. United in the fight against family violence, the umbrella group says that while recent incidences prove there is a need for its services, its effectiveness is being hampered by insufficient funding and people willing to lend a hand.

"All of the charitable agencies are really being challenged," said Velories Anne Figures, executive director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children. "The service we have to provide is escalating all the time. Finding (donors) and volunteers is an ongoing problem. I think people get caught up in their day-to-day activities and (forget).

"As far as companies go, I don't know whether the events last year of September 11 had anything to do with funding requests, but there has been an ebb and flow in the amount of donations we've received and there hasn't been that same ebb and flow in the services we're being asked to provide. We do really good work. We provide a really great service, but it's difficult."

Health and Family Services Minister Nelson Bascome did not return calls made yesterday morning regarding the plight of the charities.

However, Shadow Minister Michael Dunkley attributed the problem to changes in society's values, aggravated by what he said was the Progressive Labour Party's inability to manage finances.

"What (charities) are feeling is the brunt of what's going on in Bermuda," he said. "We're growing farther apart. We're not looking after our family members and our neighbours as we should.

"That interest in the community, what got (charities) by four or five years ago, is not getting them by now. We, as a society, don't seem to be as concerned about the big picture as we once were. We're all worried about putting a roof over our own heads and taking care of our own families.

"It's my strong belief that problems like this can only be resolved by people with good backgrounds; people who lead their lives as role models. You look at politics, you look at sports, you look at teachers. You can't put people in those positions who don't exemplify those qualities.

"We shouldn't always look to Government as if it's their problem to resolve but I do lay a lot of the problems that we're experiencing at the feet of this Government. In its manifesto, it talked about the empowerment of people, it spoke of giving people a chance - all fancy rhetoric which led people to think their life would be better.

"Four years into their term, I'd be hard pressed to find people who would say their lifestyle is better now than it was four years ago. The (PLP) didn't create all the problems we're facing today, but they should step in to fix what they can.

"But I would be loath to ask this Government for more money. When you look at the Bermuda Housing situation, the Berkeley Institute project, it's obvious that this Government is not responsible when it comes to handling money. All it means is that the money given would be wasted because it wouldn't be managed properly."

The Family Resource Network Charitable Trust comprises the Fathers Resource Centre, the Coalition for the Protection of Children, the Physical Abuse Centre and Parents Anonymous - all of which work towards the prevention of violence in families.

The Trust was formed around five years ago with the idea that, with their common goal, it would be easier to fund raise as a group, according to Eileen Brown, executive director of Parents Anonymous.

"For a while, it was a solution. We started getting lots of money. It's not a case where we'll have to close our doors. We were given a building by Government. We don't have to pay rent. It's a catch-22 situation.

"We can't hire anyone because we don't have the funding, and we can't raise any money because we don't know how. We're not qualified to do that. What it means is that we won't have paid staff members and we need them.

"We won't fall apart but it does place a huge strain on our volunteers. All our staff members at the moment (bar one) are volunteers. It makes us a very cost-effective organisation, but we need a full-time executive director who can raise funds. What would be wonderful, is if a very generous company or an individual, would adopt an employee for us; if someone could commit to paying a salary for a certain period."

June Augustus, director and chairperson of the Physical Abuse Centre, said her organisation was also struggling for cash, but plenty of good-hearted residents regularly lent assistance.

"We've had so many violent confrontations lately and everybody is in the same boat as far as funds are concerned," she said. "We have a budget of $340,000 a year and we work very hard to stay within it.

"But we have quite a number of volunteers - although we could always use more - and regularly, through our tag days, we raise close to $20,000 because of their help. We always call on the same people and we're very lucky they're willing to give their time to us but whenever we have any publicity, people seem to pick up the telephone and call asking how they can help."

What made not having sufficient volunteers most upsetting, added Mrs. Brown, was that Parents Annonymous wasn't able to assist all of those in need of its services.

"We sometimes offer help, for instance, to parents who can't afford a summer activity for their children, but we didn't have sufficient funds for that this year. Usually, we see about 200 people in our meetings over the period of a year. This year, the numbers have gone down.

"Our full-time facilitator returned to college to do graduate work, most of our volunteers have regular jobs and are only able to work after 5 p.m., we haven't been able to do as much.

"But we have served about 27 families. With an average of two parents and a child, that's 81 people we've helped this year. Again, it's down from our usual numbers, but it's understandable. But we are in need of volunteers, full-time people who can help us out so we can see people during the day and not just in the evenings."

Having full-time staff, said Mrs. Figures, could greatly improve the effectiveness of the Coalition.

"Even fund-raising is a real challenge. Not only does it take money, but it takes time to organise events. I don't have a secretary so I'm here answering the phone, doing administrative work, seeing clients.

"It all keeps me busy. If I were to try and organise a fund-raising event, it would mean I would have to neglect something else. That's the kind of dilemma we're finding ourselves in right now.

"It's easy to get caught up in your own life. Many people have a real interest in the Coalition, many even know someone who has benefited from us, but they just haven't thought about (helping out).

"I think the Coalition, especially as an advocacy agency, if we had more funding, we could do so much more. If we could hire staff, we could do more research and have a greater impact in those areas where we are needed.

"Housing, for example, I know is a real issue. We've been deluged with calls, mainly from single mothers looking for affordable housing, but while we attempt to do that, we're also getting calls from other areas.

"We provide mediation services. The courts refer people to us. And we just have one person on staff. It's getting to the point where it's hard for us to take on any more cases."

Parents Anonymous needs volunteers - see Insight on Page 5.