A wellness charity with a goal to secure accommodation for 25 people battling against mental health challenges hopes to accomplish the feat this year as part of its 30th anniversary.

Since its formation in 1994, the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation has worked closely with the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute to settle low-risk clients from institutional accommodation back into the community.

Jodi Covington, the foundation’s public relations representative, said the charity operated four homes across the island, where 25 people who completed MWI programmes lived permanently.

She added that the homes — equipped with bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities — were occupied by men and women.

The charity bought its first home, in Pembroke, in 1995, which it later sold.

It went on to acquire properties in Hamilton Parish, Pembroke and Somerset.

In 2021, the foundation purchased a property in Devonshire, and the following year, the eight-bedroom facility, called Tarheel House, was renovated to ensure it was ready for accommodation.

The facility, which is the largest of the charity’s homes, was commissioned last September.

Tarheel House is split into three units and has a kitchen, a nurse’s station and a bathroom, as well as a washing machine and dryer on each floor.

Ms Covington said: “What we do as an organisation is that we acquire the homes, we renovate them, just make the homes beautiful and then we work with the MWI to recommend occupants.”

The wellness institute has a management team that oversees the daily running of the facilities and provides care to the residents.

Ms Covington said that the MWI worked with the occupants of the homes to make sure that they can live on their own, but with support.

“They have their own rooms, their own jobs and it kind of fits into the MWI’s recovery model,” she added.

Ms Covington said: “The MWI ensures that they are in a stable-like condition, where they can go out into the community, where they can live productive and stable lives.”

On October 6, the charity will hold its Steps to Mental Wellness 5km Walk, in partnership with CG Insurance and Zest Wellness, to raise $50,000 to support the housing programme.

James Macdonald, its chairman, said: “As you may be aware, BMHF has been supporting individuals with mental illness for almost 30 years through advocacy and the provision of housing.

“This event is crucial to our mission of highlighting the importance of mental health in Bermuda.”

Ms Covington said: “We would really like to see the number [of residents] double and get to 50, to get people off the street and out of institutionalised accommodation, whether they are staying at MWI or whether their family can no longer take care of them, they just need some support.”

She added: “We are trying to do our part to provide adequate housing for these individuals.

“They are permanent residents at the homes and they live there as long as they want to live there.”

Ms Covington said that there are criteria for new occupants, determined by the MWI team.

“They are the ones who place the clients in the home and they manage the day-to-day operations of the home,” she added.

Ms Covington said: “These are people who currently live at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, and they have gone through a number of programmes to make sure that they are stabilised and that they can live in the community independently.”

She added: “Once they complete a certain level of the programme at Mid-Atlantic and they are ready for community living, then that’s when they are ready to be placed in one of our homes.”