The City of Hamilton recognises homelessness as one of the most pressing issues to be addressed in our country. Over the past five years, it has become a priority of the City as we recognise our role and endeavour to assist where we can to reduce instances of homelessness, engineer safe city spaces, and explore all aspects of homelessness — from its root causes to finding Bermuda-centric solutions. Although we are very much involved in the situation, we certainly do not claim to have all the answers when it comes to such a complex issue, which stems from generations of deeply entrenched, societal conditions.

It is important for us, as a community, to educate ourselves on the definition of “homelessness” and the varying forms that it takes — in particular with regard to the difference between “homelessness” and “vagrancy”, as the two are not synonymous. Much of the work that is within the City’s power to address involves the latter, which is arguably the more visual of the two concerns, although by no means more prolific.

We can then use those concepts and frameworks in which to place the lived experiences and stories of individuals who found themselves, for whatever reason, without a roof over their head. By humanising what it means to be homeless, we strive to create empathy-driven and human-focused solutions that best serve the community and the homeless individuals themselves.

One of the first things the City did towards this goal was to identify our helping capacity — we looked at some of the things we could do to be on the front end of this issue.

We engage in regular communication with our community partners, who include the Bermuda Police Service, the Bermuda Government, the Chamber of Commerce and the charities which service those seeking shelter, whom we recognise have the best infrastructure in place to assist this population. We also looked for ways to support these local charities. Over the past few years, we have been proud to support organisations such as the Salvation Army, Home and The Grateful Bread as we look continually for opportunities to synergise with those partners and focus our resources there.

We also value our close working relationship with the police. Through that partnership, we launched our Extra Duty Officer Programme in 2020, which provides high-visibility policing throughout Hamilton. Since the programme’s inception, the City has injected almost $130,000 in support. The move to mobilise these “antisocial behaviour patrols” was taken in response to direct feedback from the business community, city ratepayers and city users who approached us with their concerns over aggressive panhandling.

This was something that could not afford inaction. Going forward, the 2024 patrols will include two officers — five hours per day, six days per week — who will be focused in and around those areas where there is antisocial behaviour. Targeted offences include public drinking on the streets, persistent and aggressive panhandling, relieving oneself in public, verbal threats, assaults of any nature and anything else that would be considered antisocial behaviour.

It is important to note that police action does not always come in the form of an arrest; it could be simply an officer requesting that the individual stop a certain negative behaviour. Officers often act as a conduit for the unsheltered population, connecting them with helping agencies to provide them with any assistance they may require. The City continues to work closely with the police to look for innovative approaches to make antisocial behaviour in the City unappealing for would-be offenders.

It is clear that we need to find innovative and human-centric ways to deal with vagrancy. Part of this can be done through “policing by design”, whereby we adapt the infrastructure of our outside environments to make them a little safer. In our parks, for example, we reconfigured some of our public spaces to deter antisocial behaviour.

Most people who use our spaces are law-abiding citizens, but a very small percentage of individuals is abusing those spaces and using them for criminal or otherwise offensive activities. As a result, we have implemented a system that will ensure that those individuals are identified and formally brought to the attention of the police with a view to officers taking action against those individuals whom we deem to be a challenge in this space.

Part of what we have done is to be very clear as to what our roles and limitations are. The habits of a lifetime are not necessarily changed overnight. The primary responsibility of the City is to create a safe and livable city.

We are not a legislative body; that is the sole remit of Parliament. We are not an enforcement body, and nor are we a social services body; our job is to work with those organisations who are, to channel our resources and build capacity. For example, legislation is tabled in the House, not within the confines of City Hall. We are policy-driven, not legislation-driven; policies cannot supersede legislation. We constantly strive to use the two things we do possess — influence and resources — to help homeless individuals as best we can.

An all-too-common misconception in Bermuda when it comes to homelessness is that people within the City of Hamilton administration do not care about homeless people. We very much would like to support those individuals who have a desire to better themselves and help steer them in the direction of those national resources that are available to them. We also believe that we must create a city in which everyone feels safe and respected, and can go about their daily activities without harassment.

More and more we are finding our own staff are increasingly being put at risk — whether it be through encounters with aggressive individuals or in removing unsanitary items or bodily fluids left behind by those individuals. Cleaning up human faeces and urine is not something someone signs up for when they take a job at the City of Hamilton, yet, sadly, it is becoming a key part of daily existence for a number of our workers, and this is unacceptable to us.

We encourage people to educate themselves on the issue and to donate what they can towards organisations with established, disciplined feeding and welfare programmes that can provide balanced meals in safe environments and make an impact in a tangible way. Often, a member of the social services sector will attend those programmes and check up on the individuals present or see who else is new to that programme. The Salvation Army can feed a person for a day with just a few dollars, whereas your personal gift to the panhandler may just go to a beer and a nip.

The City is a committed agent of change and we have been at the conception level of the Government’s Strategy to End Homelessness, alongside our community partner Home. We have been an active voice in those meetings, and we wholeheartedly bring our perspective, perceptions and resources to the table.

Having seen Home’s plan for addressing homelessness in Bermuda fills me with great encouragement and hope that solutions can be found, and that change is afoot. They have put fierce efforts into being a data-driven organisation, rather than relying on anecdotal hearsay.

But we are acutely aware — even more than ever — that we can’t act alone. It is imperative that we work with others towards our shared goal of ending homelessness in Bermuda. This is why we are glad to see the Government has taken this matter on board and is committed to resolving the situation, as it has the legislative powers needed to make the most impactful changes we so urgently require. We similarly commit ourselves to actively assisting where we can.

As I said, we recognise we may not have all the answers, but we are committed to positive change. And we, likewise, urge the reader to consider, “What are you committed to, and will your actions confirm that?”

• Charles Gosling is the Mayor of Hamilton