For many years, we in Bermuda have chosen to accept homelessness in our community. Perhaps we have not prioritised ending homelessness because we feel it would be too expensive. And who’s going to pay for it all?

But don’t be fooled into thinking doing nothing costs nothing. The financial burden of homelessness is borne by all taxpayers in the added strain it places on social services, helping agencies, the criminal justice system and our healthcare system.

For example, it is not uncommon for a person experiencing homelessness to commit a crime in order to go to prison, where they will have shelter and meals provided. Every time this happens, there is a cost to the Bermuda Police Service, the court system and the Department of Corrections. The cost of incarceration, alone, to taxpayers is more than $80,000 per inmate per year.

The cost is one factor, but it also fails to address issues that led to the individual becoming homeless. On returning to the community, that person will typically have no job and no home to go to. So the end result amounts to a large amount of money spent without a solution for the individual, plus the probability the cycle will repeat.

Of people with criminal records, reoffending rates are 20 per cent higher among those who are homeless, a survey in Scotland found. Formerly incarcerated people are ten times more likely to be homeless than the general public, research in the United States revealed.

Consider also the strain on our healthcare system. The poor and insecure living conditions of homelessness are detrimental to both physical and mental health. Alcohol and drug addiction, as well as mental-health issues, are both causes and consequences of homelessness.

The homeless population cycles in and out of the emergency department, hospital, psychiatric centres and detoxification programmes. As they are likely to have no or inadequate health insurance, the public bear the cost.

In July, the Bermuda Hospitals Board revealed 25 acute-care beds at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital were occupied by people fit to be discharged, but with no safe place to go. Looking after a well patient at the hospital costs about $1,000 per day. Twenty people “blocking” beds would amount to $600,000 a month — or enough to buy a house every two months.

The $50 million or so allocated in the present fiscal year for payments on financial assistance is another way in which taxpayers foot the bill for homelessness. While this support is designed to give the most vulnerable “a minimal standard of living”, it does not include the intensive case management many will need to progress from financial dependence.

Homelessness increases the need for affordable housing, which creates further demand on public finances. The Government has committed $15 million over three years in capital expenditure to make more affordable housing units available, in addition to the $6.5 million of regular annual funding for the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

Also included in the cost of homelessness should be the support of helping agencies, charities and religious organisations which provide emergency shelter, food and support services for those without a home. Millions of dollars in corporate and individual donations, in addition to government grants, support these organisations.

Visible homelessness also damages our tourism product. Consider those individuals who congregate on Front Street and in public parks, asking for money, sleeping and sometimes urinating in public places. Consider how this affects tourists’ impressions of Bermuda and the detrimental effect on local businesses, such as restaurants and food trucks.

Then there is the wasted human potential. The lack of a home creates barriers to education, training opportunities and employment, exacerbating economic and social isolation. It is especially wasteful at a time when growing Bermuda’s working population has become a high priority.

While data on the true cost of homelessness in Bermuda is not available, detailed studies have been carried out elsewhere. For example, in New South Wales, Australia, an actuarial study of service use by 625,000 people between 2011 and 2017 found people who used specialist homeless services also utilised other government services up to ten times more than the broader population.

Of these, the top 5 per cent in terms of cost used public services valued at A$706,000 (about $454,000) per person over six years, with 84 per cent of this attributable to health and justice services. Only 9 per cent of costs related to housing support, illustrating clearly the need for a whole-system response to homelessness, rather than treating it as simply a matter of shelter.

This is just one example of research around the world that supports the argument that it is cheaper to take the actions necessary to end homelessness than it is to do nothing about it.

Home advocates strongly for more research and data to help inform policy and spending choices. Tracking the number of people who are homeless is something we are already doing. In 2022, our research identified 650 people experiencing homelessness, but we have no doubt there were more we missed. Just as important is tracking those at risk of homelessness, as prevention is the most cost-effective intervention and will help to ensure homelessness remains a rarity. A detailed inventory of housing is also sorely needed.

Data helps to ascertain the true cost of homelessness and the potential returns on investing in solutions. The cost-benefit analysis should include gains from helping individuals who exist outside the system to become contributing members of society.

What then does it cost to enable an individual to make the journey from homelessness to stable living? Based on our experience at Home, the answer is $35,000. That covers the cost of moving inside, intensive case management, supportive living, providing an employment opportunity, and then transitioning into independent living. The solution is undeniably inexpensive when compared with the alternative.

That is food for thought, particularly at this time of year. While the festive season often inspires one-off acts of kindness to help the vulnerable, a commitment to provide support throughout the year has much greater value.

At Home, we enable donors to support a specific individual, choosing from anonymous profiles that tell our clients’ stories and educational and employment goals, as well as detailing the help they need. Donors can also receive updates on their progress. It is a personalised way of giving that helps change a life — a sustainable option for this holiday season, perhaps?

With the “Plan to End Homelessness” close to being launched, as noted in the recent Throne Speech, Bermuda is set to change for ever the way it addresses homelessness, with the introduction of a whole-system approach, centred on each individual’s needs.

Success will depend heavily on community-wide support, co-operation and collaboration, not only involving the Government, Home and all the necessary social services, helping agencies, non-profits and businesses, but every single one of us.

Please join the effort to end homelessness. Together we can make it happen.

• 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