The great strides Bermuda has made in finding a more humane and effective way to combat homelessness makes me proud of my community. The support we have had at Home from every corner of the community is nothing short of inspirational.

Over the three years since Home was launched, we have witnessed a shift in the public perception of homelessness, from an issue that the Government was expected to fix to a realisation that we all have a role to play.

We are seeing it in the support we receive from leaders in government, the Church, unions, charities, social service providers, government departments, sports clubs, school principals and students, and the general public. The full spectrum of the business community, from international companies, to accounting and law firms, tradesmen and small businesses, they have all reached out to ask, how can we help?

This is encouraging because it suggests Bermuda no longer sees addressing homelessness as an impossible venture or someone else’s responsibility. Rather, there is a clearer understanding that it will take a concerted, community-wide and collaborative effort over the long term. And that homelessness touches us all.

This groundswell of public support is evidence that the message is gaining traction. It’s also apparent in the changes in how homelessness is discussed on social-media channels. Three years ago, the online comments about homelessness were dominated by who was to blame and what was done previously, but now more of the comments are constructive.

Reporting of homelessness issues in the mainstream media has evolved positively, with more stories that help the public gain understanding of the complex nature of homelessness, rather than the negative stereotypes we saw too often in the past.

We are especially grateful for the efforts of The Royal Gazette, which has generously partnered with Home in the Ending Homelessness campaign. In particular, we commend Jeremy Deacon, the Chief Reporter, who has been compassionate and motivated to get to the root causes of homelessness in his reporting. He leaves no stone unturned to ensure the public understand the realities.

The Gazette has also made it easy for readers to research and follow progress, with the “Ending Homelessness” subcategory under the “News” tab on its homepage storing a trove of articles related to the issue.

I am grateful that the real stories of individuals who have had traumatic experiences and are doing the best they can to cope in difficult circumstances in this small community are finally being told. We need more storytellers to walk in this space.

These articles are helping to educate us all, and I hear greater compassion and understanding in the changing language around homelessness. It is pleasing, for example, to hear people speak about “rough sleepers”, rather than “bums sleeping outside”, a phrase that was commonplace three years ago.

The rise in the cost of living we have experienced has helped many of us to more easily understand how someone can end up living outside through no fault of their own. After becoming disconnected, it is difficult to rejoin the community. A landlord considering 20 prospective tenants will not consider you a good option if you’re struggling to make ends meet.

People can do everything society expects of them and still be unable to find a home. We should no longer tolerate this injustice. We at Home will continue to advocate for increasing the supply of affordable housing, so everyone can have a home that is sustainable, a base from where they can thrive and contribute to the community. By realising that vision, we will grow and strengthen our community.

In our first three years, Home has made solid progress in pursuing our strategic priorities to:

• Help homeless individuals and families receive shelter, health and social services

• Prevent episodes of homelessness

• Empower and support our community partners to improve their response to individuals and families experiencing homelessness

• Track progress in preventing, reducing and ending homelessness

Home has brought together our community partners to collaboratively develop the Plan to End Homelessness, which spells out the vision of how we can end homelessness together.

We are now hosting our twelfth cohort of individuals in Home’s Housing-First programme, which gives people access to the tools, services and support they need on their path towards stable, independent living.

Our case managers work closely with the eight individuals in each group over an eight-week period to provide them with the basic building blocks of a stable life:

• Food and shelter

• An ID

• Bank account

• Transportation

• Access to healthcare

• Guidance on tenancies, budgeting, applying for jobs and running a household

Thanks to wonderfully supportive local businesses, we also open up work opportunities.

We continue to provide intensive case management for up to 24 months to ensure these individuals get the specific support they need to maintain their progress towards independence.

We are extremely proud that less than 10 per cent of those who graduate through Housing-First fall back into homelessness — better than the global average of about 20 per cent.

After our first two years running the programme at Black Circle, we are delighted the Bermuda Industrial Union, our landlord, has agreed to extend our tenancy agreement by another two years.

Last month, Home agreed with the Women’s Resource Centre to take over the Transformational Living Centre, which is designed to support single mothers and their children. We were humbled the WRC put trust in Home to build on its legacy.

This marks a natural progression for Home. For the past three years, we have learnt so much working with men who have children they do not live with, and with whom they struggle to build relationships because of their housing situation. Now we will be providing services for mothers and fathers, hopefully leading to less reliance on financial assistance and less need for courts to navigate relationships.

Our new Renting Ready programme will help first-time tenants who need support managing their rental units, as well as tenants who are in jeopardy of being evicted, helping to prevent new cases of homelessness.

We used to get calls for help on the day of eviction, but now people are calling us weeks in advance, so more can be done to assist them. Parents are reaching out earlier to ask for in-house support so that family break-ups can be avoided. More people understand the critical importance of homelessness prevention.

We are working ever more closely with community partners such as the Bermuda Housing Corporation, the Salvation Army, Focus, Star, and many others. Our shared, cloud-based, case-management system is a powerful enabler of a whole-system approach to ensure people in need receive access to the services they require.

In 2021, this was all just a vision, but today the Plan to End Homelessness is taking on a life of its own, driven by community-wide momentum.

We have had to educate ourselves and grow together as we work to bring about change. I am privileged to be a member of the wonderful Home family. We are humbled that individuals, families and organisations across the island have put their trust in Home to pursue this mission.

Together, we can end homelessness.

• Denise Carey is the chief executive and executive director of Home, a charity with the purpose of ensuring 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. To view Home’s 2023 annual report, or to donate, visit the Home website atwww.home.bm