There are between 250 and 300 homeless on the Island and the number of homeless are on the rise, according to the Salvation Army.

The problem is big enough that the charitable organisation is forced to turn people away from the shelters it operates for the impoverished, every night.

Speaking to the Hamilton Rotary Club, Major Doug Lewis said that while the charity feeds 80 people a night through its shelters and a mobile feeding station which delivers food throughout the Island in a van, the charity's biggest shelter can only bed 55 people a night.

"The emergency shelter on Marsh Lane was supposed to be a night shelter, an emergency shelter, but we have several people who've lived there for years," Mr. Lewis said. "Many people just fend for themselves because there aren't many other options.

"They're out there on their own. The advantage of having the mobile feeding station is that we at least know where they live."

Mr. Lewis said that since he arrived in Bermuda in 2006, the number of families seeking assistance has risen by 20 percent, but the largest increase has been among young men.

"More and more young men, between 20 and 30 years old, are coming to the feeding programme," he said.

"In a lot of cases, the individuals have chosen to leave their families. Some have been forced out because of drugs or other issues, but the majority is by choice.

"We try to do things to help people who have made choices that are not necessarily the right choices."

The Salvation Army has three separate housing complexes which work with a programme designed to help people off the streets.

Those living in the Marsh Lane Shelter can be moved to The Harbour Light, a three- to six-month programme focusing mainly on battling drug addiction which has 10 beds, and then Dreaming in Colour Programme, which is for people who are able to work full time jobs and pay a rent of less than $400 a month.

By moving from the shelter to Harbour Lights, to Dreaming in Colour, the programme is designed to wean people away from needing assistance.

However, Mr. Lewis acknowledges that the jump from $400 a month in rent to rent anywhere else on the Island is difficult to manage.

"We really need something in the way of second-stage housing," he said.

While donations from the public pay for a great deal of Salvation Army services, the biggest donor is the Government.

Currently, Government grants make up over half the funding for Dreaming in Colour, a third of The Harbour Light, and more than 80 percent of the Marsh Lane Shelter.

"We're always asking Government for more money, and they're always asking us to do more," Mr. Lewis said.

The news, however, is not all bad. Mr. Lewis boasts that the recovery programmes offered by the Salvation Army work.

"We have one of the highest success rates in Harbour Light. I believe that it's because we have a real opportunity to follow up, rather then just saying (of our clients), they're finished and letting them go."

And while the charity is unable to provide shelter for all of the Island's homeless, they are able to help large numbers of the community the Salvation Army feeds more than 80 people a night, and helps 120 families a month.

"People come by saying they can't afford their power bills. While we can't just pay their bills, we can give them something from the food bank. That way they can save that money on groceries and maybe pay the bills."