Home is a concept that inspires strong emotions. Home is a safe haven, a place where memories are made, a base for living, a comfort zone, a foundation of our wellbeing. Imagine for a moment that you had no home. Sadly, that is the reality for hundreds in our community.

Tuesday was World Homeless Day, a day on which communities around the world draw attention to the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Approximately one in 100 residents of Bermuda have no place to call home, according to a survey that we at the charity Home conducted last year.

Homelessness renders those experiencing it rudderless. It robs them of the everyday elements of a normal life that most of us take for granted: regular meals, a job, a bank account, and access to services such as healthcare and education. It causes untold misery to individuals, families and communities, and inflicts broad social and economic damage.

When individuals lose their home, they lose dignity and self-esteem, become stigmatised, disconnected from mainstream society, and vulnerable to violence. Every case of homelessness is a preventable human tragedy.

Some may look at homelessness as an inevitable social issue, but we at Home beg to differ. Two years ago, we set out on our mission to end homelessness in Bermuda. Through a collaborative effort, we have made great progress.

At the core of our approach is to research, listen and learn. We have asked hundreds of people experiencing homelessness, or at risk of it, to tell us what they need to get their lives back on track. We have researched strategies that have found success in combating homelessness in more than 40 countries. And we have collaborated with the numerous social-care agencies and helping organisations in the public, private and charitable sectors.

This data-driven, evidence-based approach will inform us as a community as we work towards a whole-system response to homelessness. In practice, this means trauma-informed, citizen-centric services, enabled by Home’s deep relationships with partner agencies, which allow us to collectively deliver the services needed for each individual — in effect, bringing the whole system to the client.

We have found that Bermuda’s homeless population includes people in a wide range of circumstances, from sleeping rough or living in night shelters to being released from medical or penal institutions with nowhere to go, and people living in inadequate or insecure accommodation, or under the threat of violence.

Circumstances that left them homeless include economic hardship through loss of employment, lack of affordable housing, an individual health crisis, mental-health challenges, domestic violence and relationship breakdowns. Usually, a combination of factors is involved.

People who fall into homelessness are sometimes treated as different, even less than human. Homelessness should not define someone’s worth. Everyone deserves dignity and we should all be mindful that these circumstances can happen to anyone.

At Home, I’m immensely proud to work with a dedicated team who every day help individuals to repair damaged lives, through intensive case management at Black Circle. For each cohort, over eight weeks, we restore the building blocks of a normal life — ID, bank account, preparation for managing meals and money, employment opportunities and transitioning to independence.

Last year alone, Home provided shelter to 56 rough sleepers during the winter months, provided intensive case management to 116 individuals and prevented 70 cases of homelessness.

Being treated with respect and compassion is something new for many of our clients. Their response is frequently uplifting. Their commitment to overcome struggles they have battled for years with the goal of attaining the basic, stable life most people take for granted is inspiring.

Their testimonials describe how the support system Home has developed has helped them in their journey from despair to hope. One, who reached out to us when living in a car, went on to secure employment and eventually an apartment. They told us: “I developed more confidence because it felt like everybody was in my corner.”

Another who had lived outside and in emergency shelters for years while battling addiction came to us. We ensured they received necessary medical treatment, therapy and intensive case management. As they described it: “It wasn't always easy — I suffered withdrawal symptoms. Home was with me throughout the entire journey. They didn’t give up on me. They supported me to a point that now I am sober and a contributing member of our community.”

A longtime rough sleeper assisted by Home said: “I have been inside for 119 days, the longest I have been in for years. I got a job and I am on my way to independence. Thank you, thank you. I am never going back outside.”

Hearing the stories of our guests at Black Circle and seeing their resilience, courage, determination and progress is incredibly rewarding. Ensuring they can find the long-term accommodation, employment and access to services they need are the next steps on the path towards stable and fulfilling lives. Home works with public and private landlords, employers and service providers to help them on their way.

A community-wide response is the key to preventing and ending homelessness. The collaboration that Home has worked to achieve is bringing results. And over the past two years, we have seen material changes in the way homelessness is addressed.

We have been heartened by the compassion of the Bermuda public and the support we have received from across the social-care system, the Government, donors and volunteers. Momentum is building.

Working together, we can end homelessness.

• Denise Carey is chief executive and executive director of Home, a charity with the purpose of ensuring that everyone in Bermuda has a safe, stable and sustainable place to live and that new cases of homelessness are prevented. Contact her at denise@home.bm. For more information, or to donate, visit the Home website at www.home.bm