Bermuda’s community is “reeling from the shock” of its gang violence problems and failing to address the issues behind them, according to social worker Martha Dismont.

Young men — often dismissed by their schools and families as incapable of learning — need to be given a proper chance to get back on the right path, the executive director of Family Centre said.

She questioned whether society was prepared to invest resources into ensuring they have the skills to take jobs and whether families are given the appropriate treatment to cope with emotional neglect and trauma.

“When we are faced with a struggling economy, the need for new job skills and education and family stressors, our family systems struggle,” Ms Dismont said in a speech to the Hamilton Rotary Club.

“We have been in a crisis state with public education, increased gang violence and disenfranchised youth for some time, yet we have not responded as if we are in a crisis.

“We seem to be still reeling from the unbelievable shock of it all, and meanwhile families and young people are living this life for far too long.

“There is a responsibility that parents must take to be better in the lives of children, and to find the solutions that they need to improve their lot in life, but we also have the responsibility as a community to place an emphasis on family strengthening.

“Good businesses work hard to ensure that their employees are in a position to do their best. Is it too much to ask for Bermuda to focus on family, the centre of our resources and strength as a tourist destination?”

In the past week, Bermuda has seen the fatal stabbing of Jahkoby Smith, 21, and two other stabbing incidents, while 34 men have been shot dead since May 2009, including Jahcari Francis, 20, on July 19. Ms Dismont said that education was a core issue, noting that few involved in the gang culture had a high school diploma or a college degree.

“I hear more complaints about Bermudians who are not job-ready than businesses willing to pitch in and help our youth to become job-ready,” she said.

“Those who have chosen to act out violently, particularly within gang activity, are most likely young men who have been released from school environments, and dismissed by their families, and seen as incapable of learning.

“They must be given a concerted chance to get back on the right path. In 80 to 90 per cent of the cases of these young men, they desperately desire an increased level of education, more self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and a future for themselves, absent of the violence.”

Ms Dismont said the core question was whether Bermuda was serious about addressing its social ills. She asked: “Are we ready to invest the appropriate dollar, resource and effort into ensuring that our young people and the unemployed adult are trained with skills to be in a position to take the new jobs that are being developed?

“Are we instilling in adults the necessary nurturing sense of care and response to children and their emotional needs?

“Are we properly treating the adults and parents of our children for their emotional neglect and trauma?

“Are we improving the public education system with urgency so that we no longer have young people who are leaving school without a degree, without skills, and without a sense of purpose?

“There is no true wealth without work. So, we must get to work and place the emphasis where it needs to be. You were all children once upon a time. What actually helped you to be successful?”