A hotline set up after the Good Friday murder of Kimwandae Walker has been abandoned because only eight people called to ask for help, The Royal Gazette understands.

The Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation launched the service on April 3 after 35-year-old Mr. Walker was gunned down in front of his two young children and other families outside Victor Scott Primary School in Pembroke.

Minister Neletha Butterfield announced it was for adults and children traumatised by the shooting and urged anyone in need of counselling to call Bermuda Youth Counselling Services (BYCS) on 296-7548 or Child and Adolescent Services on 239-6344.

Four men have been murdered since Mr. Walker's death and many more injured by gunfire. But this newspaper has been told the hotline is no longer formally in operation.

One source described it as being "disbanded" due to so few calls being received since Mr. Walker was killed.

It is understood that discussions are ongoing about whether to reintroduce the hotline and that BYCS is still offering trauma counselling to individuals at its office and during home visits, as well as making referrals to other agencies.

Ms Butterfield declined to be interviewed on the subject; a spokesman for her Ministry said there would be a response in due course.

Other agencies are banding together to offer help to those in the community left shattered by the spate of fatalities and constant gunfire of the last 15 months and will meet today to discuss crisis response.

Community activist Gina Spence will be at the meeting and wants help to be focused on families. Her organisation, Gina Spence Productions in Christ, is hoping to "adopt" the room at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where relatives wait when a loved one has been shot.

Ms Spence — whose son-in-law James Lawes was murdered in March — wants to make the room a welcoming, family-friendly space, fill it with resources and information for coping with sudden death and have an on-call crisis response team available to meet relatives.

"That's going to be a huge project," she said. "This week there was another shooting. That room has to be done immediately.

"We want to create a Wall of Hope. I'm definitely in talks with various organisations: Police, hospital, and counsellors, especially those that specialise in crisis.

"It is to deal with the people left behind. There are all sorts of needs. It's for people who just don't know what to do, where to go and how to get the help."

She said the lack of calls to the Government hotline could be because people didn't know about it or simply weren't ready to seek help.

"Most of these families are still probably very much consumed by the grief and the loss and the [funeral] cost," she said.

"What I was saying to the government department responsible for the number and the resource was: 'Do a PR campaign specific to families.'

"I think it's not that the services are not available. I think it has to do more with the way in which people receive the information.

"There was a hotline and there was a number that people called. It was on for a specific time and then it was off. I think when they first presented it, people didn't call. Things kind of died down for a minute and then they kicked off again."

Ms Spence said those who have personally suffered can sometimes be better equipped than the authorities to offer comfort and support — and that trust is a major factor for people considering seeking help.

She regularly receives calls from those in need. "Aside of my being a community activist, I lived it," she said.

Meanwhile, school counsellors are preparing to deal with students traumatised by a summer of gang violence when term begins next month.

Cindy Smith, chairman of Bermuda Counsellors Association, said her members were getting ready to deliver the extra care that may be needed by children dealing with the loss of a loved one or struggling to make sense of what is happening in their neighbourhood.

"We know that students are definitely affected by this gun violence," she said. "I know that school counsellors at this very moment are planning for September because of what's been going on over the summer.

"At some schools they are preparing to deal with that and possibly have groups running through the year. Counsellors can assist with having people talk about what has happened. In Bermuda, things aren't really talked about as much."

• Ms Spence can be reached on 333-4292.