Volunteers create garden at Salvation Army housing shelter
Homeless people taking shelter at the Salvation Army’s emergency accommodation in Pembroke will be able to grow their own vegetables thanks to the efforts of a team of volunteers.
More than a dozen recruits from the Bermuda Is Love outreach organisation spent the weekend creating a community garden in the grounds of the Marsh Folly Road site, which provides housing for almost 30 people.
Aaron Crichlow, of BIL, said the group wanted to provide residents with a space in which they could relax — and also highlight the issue of homelessness in Bermuda.
Mr Crichlow said: “We had around 15 volunteers clear out and create a community garden for the shelter’s residents so that they can grow their own food as well as create a space for the residents to hang out and relax, which can benefit their physical and mental health.
“For us, the event is meant to firstly build community by bringing people together to make the world a better place. It’s about people understanding that they must be more understanding and empathetic to other people’s situations and that we are ultimately all together in this world and we must work together to solve all of our problems.
“We all have a responsibility to give back and to help each other. So the events that we provide are meant to encourage others in the community to join our movement and lead by example in creating the Bermuda that we want to see.”
Mr Crichlow said that homelessness affected not just those who found themselves sleeping rough, but the entire community.
He said: “We all have a role to play to address this important issue. We believe that everyone deserves to live in a secure and safe home for their wellbeing, dignity and protection. This is their right as human beings — to have their basic needs met, so that no one has to worry about where they are going to sleep at night.
“We hope that many people become more aware about the problem of homelessness in the community from our campaign and we hope that people have learnt more about how they can get involved to help us end homelessness in Bermuda.”
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