“Sir, do you have a couple of dollars for some food?”

The business man saw it coming and doesn't even break his stride as he shakes his head and keeps walking, ignoring the homeless man's request for a handout.

It is an everyday occurrence in the city of Hamilton, one that won't go away even now that the most persistent of all the beggars, Eugene (Jinks) Darrell, is behind bars serving a seven-week sentence for his latest offence. It came just hours after being given a condition discharge for the same offence and in all likelihood Darrell will be back on the streets doing the same thing upon his release in a few weeks' time.

Tackling the problem is the mission of the Eliza Dolittle Society, a charity founded 18 months ago to deal with the plight of the homeless. The society has determined that 56 homeless people frequent Hamilton on a daily basis.

They estimate that 80 percent of street people have a drug and or alcohol problem and many have had assistance from St. Brendan's Hospital. Some still need ongoing medication which they refuse to take, and that only adds to the problem.

The Eliza Dolittle Society plans to raise funds to assist with the purchase of a building to serve as a drop-in centre for the homeless, assisting them and alleviating the necessity to beg on the streets.

“Our society's premise is that the people we aim to assist need a hand up, not just a handout,” said Deputy chairman WA (Toppy) Cowen.

“Affordable housing is of utmost importance and we are actively pursuing potential locations within the city of Hamilton to provide a drop-in centre with single room accommodation and by-the-night crisis facilities.

“Financial support is of course critical for this ambitious project, however we believe it can be achieved based on just one recent fund-raising effort. In December, the City Trotters Walking Club organised a charity walk in aid of the homeless. Remarkably $5,000 was raised and donated to our society. Our thanks to them!”

Now, the society is planning its own fund raising project, with a ‘Soup-A-Bowl' at the La Coquille Restaurant at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on Thursday, March 14 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Those attending will taste a variety of delicious soups prepared by ten of the Island's premier chefs...Serge Bottelli (La Coquille), Edmund Smith (Ascots), Danny Lynn (L'Oriental), Tommy Poh (Habourfront), Thomas Garlich (Pink Beach), Paul Duclos (Le Figaro), Stefane Juluisberger (Sonesta Beach), Alfred Konrad (Mulligans), Franco Cappara (Portofino's) and Johnny Roberts (Horizons).

Tickets are $50 and available from Heel Sew Quik in Hamilton and accompanying the soups will be home-made bread rolls and a dedicated wine and sherry tasting, courtesy of Gosling Brothers. At the end of the Soup-A-Bowl, those attending will be given their own hand-painted Italian ceramic bowl, designed exclusively for the event by local artist Barbara Finsness. Those seeking further information can call 234-4388 or 295-0193.

The idea for the name of the charity came from the film ‘My Fair Lady', a play by George Bernard Shaw whose character Eliza Dolittle is a flower seller.

“Like Eliza's transformation, we believe some of our almost 60 vagrants who frequent the city can be redirected and eventually become productive and motivated citizens,” said Mr. Cowen.

Said founding member and chairperson Margaret Vaucrosson: “With us it's a mentoring process that we would like to get going, and you need some place to do it. In order to do that you have to have money, so we are now starting to get our money together in order to be able to develop a drop-in centre.

“Hamilton is being sieged by people and some of them are begging in order to make their existence.”

Many others, with no fixed abode seek shelter at the Salvation Army each night where rules apply, but there are others who don't want to live in a structured environment. It is only when one looks closely into the problem that they can appreciate the magnitude of it.

“We've had conversations with the Minister (Nelson Bascome) and chats with the Housing Corporation and each time they have obviously listened to our plea and are very concerned about the niche we are trying to fill,” explained Mr. Cowen.

Government is attempting to address the issue of affordable housing and caught up in the mix of it are those living on the streets, some who want help and others who don't.

“We're talking about people who have nothing at all to give back and we want to make sure these people aren't forgotten,” said Mr. Cowen.

“These are the people you see on a daily basis who have become somewhat of a nuisance by begging on the street. Many people try to avoid them, some people give them money and that is something we're trying to discourage.

“We don't believe people are really assisting them by giving them a handout. We want to get those people to assist us in giving them a hand up.”

The drop-in centre would be housing for the homeless on a temporary basis, helping them to get back on their feet.

“We've really been looking for a place this last six months,” said Ms Vaucrosson.

Sometimes the homeless commit crimes to feed themselves or support a drug or alcohol addiction; they are sent to prison, serve their time and then come back out. Unable to find a job and with no place to stay, they commit another crime to support themselves and go through the revolving door again.

“They try to find a job, nobody wants them, family doesn't want them and there is no place to turn to,” said Mr. Cowen.

“Whatever they were afflicted with, drugs or alcohol, they go back to what they were doing before and it starts all over again. That's what leads to eight of ten people going back to prison.

“If we can fill that void and give them a hand up we believe we can turn some of them around. We have identified at least eight who would prefer to sleep on the street but there probably are a lot more than that.”

He added: “When it gets to the point that the Magistrate realises there is another organisation that can do something for these people, he might be able to direct them towards us.

“We want to get the beggars off the street, everybody is complaining about it, including the Government, but nobody is doing anything about it. No one really knows how to handle it and of course you'll have a lot of people saying ‘you're wasting your time, it's not going to happen' and saying a lot of negative things. But we're going to persist and keep moving on.”

Ms Vaucrosson says it is important to develop zero tolerance to begging. “We definitely need an outreach of some kind,” she believes.

“It's a community problem and everybody needs to be aware of it. They are either involved in the drug trade or the drug trade involves them. The drug trade is a part of the homeless group, no question about it.”

Ms Vaucrosson says there are several factors which result in a person becoming homeless, from alcohol and drugs to unaffordable rents.

“That is the biggie,” she says of the latter.

“We've got overcrowded situations where parents are living with adult children who are not working, or if they are working are not contributing to the household.

“We're talking about those who have already spilled out onto the street but there are a whole lot behind closed doors ready to spill out. A few people have lost their home because their wife divorced them and they got the bad end of the settlement and have been forced to wander. I've heard that more than once.”

During interaction with the homeless, the volunteers from the Eliza Dolittle Society have found them willing to listen.

“I found them very polite and willing to accept our good grace and they were very grateful,” the chairperson revealed.

“People seem to be afraid of these people but there is no way you have to be afraid of them, they are human beings. Blocking out the problem is a natural way of dealing with it.”

Says Mr. Cowen, a former hotelier: “Everyone says repeatedly we are an affluent society, that we have all this money in Bermuda, and the haves outnumber the have nots. But the have nots are increasing.

“We had a meeting with Raymond Dill (Bermuda Housing Corporation) and he has a list a mile long for people who need low cost housing and there is not enough out there.”