Yesterday the homeless in Parsons Road were shifted from their roadside camp -- to a spot a few yards away, hidden from passing traffic.

Their belongings went with them, leaving the sidewalk free of obstructions.

Only a heap of beer bottles and some threadbare furniture scarring the embankment told the more observant of their presence.

"They came early this morning, and cleaned it all up. It was those people from the Corporation of Hamilton,'' said one homeless man in a peaked cap.

"I don't mind being moved. Why should I? Where else would I be going?'' One elderly woman clasping a radio stood near the spot she had made her home on the sidewalk. Her couch and the rest of her possessions were nowhere to be seen.

The roadside camp's disappearance fooled a lot of motorists blinded by the embankment and the shrubbery. They could not spot a small area of concrete -- bordering the Salvation Army hostel -- where the group of five or six had put down their belongings.

Several people phoned The Royal Gazette yesterday to say the homeless folk had simply vanished -- a day after a blaze of publicity about their plight.

Nobody from the Corporation of Hamilton could be reached for comment yesterday, despite repeated attempts.

The Salvation Army's Major David Goulding, executive director of the Harbour Light Centre, said he was aware the Parsons Road homeless had moved.

But he added: "They were not moved by us. We had nothing to do with it since they were not on our property.'' One of those who went to inspect the lot of the Parsons Road homeless yesterday was Shadow Human Affairs Minister Ewart Brown.

Brown: We must roll up our sleeves and help the homeless He came away with a plea for Bermudians to roll up their sleeves and care for people with pressing psychological problems.

"We have enough interpersonal glue whereby we can make significant adjustments.

"We have the professional talent here and the physical plant, but we are short of will in getting our hands dirty when dealing with those at the lower rung of society's ladder.'' Dr. Brown had heard through the Press how the homeless were critical of plans to push up the nightly cost of a room from $3 to $4. Some, too, were incensed at being forced out of the shelters between 8.30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

But he wanted to see for himself, as much in his capacity as a physician as a politician.

What he saw convinced him the homeless had to be in a structured environment to meet their psychological needs.

"One fellow I saw was on strong psychotropic medication and still smoking marijuana.'' He added: "I really wanted to take a first-hand look at the situation and talk to the people,'' said Dr. Brown.

"I came away with my suspicions confirmed. Some of these people have psychological problems some of which are manifested through drug problems.

"Being homeless is more than being without a home. In the United States they have done studies which show that more than 75 percent of the homeless have significant psychological problems.'' Dr. Brown also spoke of a health hazard at the Parsons Road site, calling for the homeless to be allowed to use nearby bathrooms.

"I think the solution to the homeless problem lies in adequate mental health provision.

"I think St. Brendan's and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital should come together so that these people can be restored to a better level of mental health so that after counselling we can then look at job placements.'' Dr. Brown, who believed the lives of some of the homeless folk could be turned around, said Bermuda tended to be in denial.

"I think we would prefer to deny the existence of the problem and take it away from public view.

"I think Bermuda should have learned from the experience of the drug menace.

If we deny a problem it does not mean that problem does not exist. We are doing the same thing with education and crime.'' Another of those calling yesterday for Bermuda to face an increasingly ugly reality was Fern Wade, founder of Hands of Love, a Christian ministry which regularly feeds the hungry in Court Street.

"I think it's time for Government to set up winter shelters. They have to be in Hamilton where most of the homeless people are and they have to be free.

"After all, if you're into drugs and are an alcoholic you don't have money.

"What we have to do is remove the stigma that the homeless people are not human beings.'' Ms Wade said her ministry would be launching Operation Blanket in January.

"Last year we received 400 blankets. We are appealing for people to donate blankets. We want the blankets to be clean and without holes.'' Ms Wade said Bermuda's army of homeless people was growing.

During a recent walkabout she discovered the telltale signs of the homeless at the old Bermudiana Hotel -- scattered clothing, towels, rum bottles and cigarette butts and cartons.

"I worked out 32 people were sleeping rough at the hotel, just trying to find a place to keep out of the cold,'' she said.

"The conditions there are deplorable and dangerous. But these people want somewhere to lay their head.'' Ms Wade said other haunts for the homeless were St. Theresa's Cathedral in Cedar Avenue and public toilets and bus shelters in Hamilton.

"Society is in denial. I don't think enough Bermudians really have genuine sympathy for the homeless. The problem is getting worse and we had better wake up to it.''