Raynelle Dillas lives in a two-bedroom apartment she shares with three adults and her five-year-old son.The 22-year-old works 39 hours a week. But once she has paid her bills, put food on the table and done laundry, her paycheque is spent.The GED graduate decided to speak out in a soon-to-be-released documentary, ‘Poverty in Paradise: the Price We Pay', to show how the other half live in Bermuda.She spoke with reporter Ruth O'Kelly-Lynch and the film's producer Nicola Feldman, to promote the documentary they hope will correct misconceptions about Bermuda's poor.According to the 2000 Census 11 percent of Bermuda's population lives below the poverty line.Experts expect that number has risen significantly in the last few years due to the increasing cost of living and decreasing job opportunities.Executive director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, Nicola Feldman, said the charity decided to commission the documentary to portray the day-to-day hardships that can go unseen on this island paradise.Raynelle Dillas is one of many who live below the poverty line, according to the Coalition. The classification is in line with the Department of Statistics' low-income threshold basket of goods and services which include basic necessities. Based on that, Ms Dillas, a single adult raising one child and earning less than $45,770, is classified as poor.Ms Feldman worked on the documentary with its Bermudian director Lucinda Spurling, an award-winning filmmaker.She said: “We wanted to spread the word of the hardship which we hear day in and day out from our clients who are finding it increasingly difficult to raise their children in Bermuda, and to explore the root of how and why Bermuda has ended up where it is today with a growing underclass and escalating gang violence.“The film draws the link between the growing gap between the very wealthy and the very poor and its connection to the levels of gun violence and murders we are seeing.”Coalition chairwoman Sheelagh Cooper added: “With the recent trajectory that Bermuda has followed, we felt it was important to give voice to our clients who have a valuable yet often unheard perspective in terms of where our community and Country are heading, and what it is like to be one of those who must bear the brunt of the burden of such a trajectory.”Ms Feldman and Ms Spurling tracked the lives of 16 clients at the Coalition who were willing to share their stories over 18 months. The women were low-income or unemployed mothers who were frustrated with their situation and wanted to shed light on the difficulties they faced.Ms Dillas is one of the 16 women featured in the documentary. In 2009 she lived in Gulfstream, the Government's emergency housing complex in St David's.The 22-year-old said: “I was there for three years. They say they are trying to move you on as you progress but they weren't doing that for many people so I decided to go out on my own and try and find a house without the Bermuda Housing Corporation.”For two years she lived in a four-bedroom shared accommodation with her sister, brother and another man who rented out the extra room. They each paid $800.She now lives in a two-bedroom apartment. Her mother and her mother's husband share one room, while Ms Dillas shares the other with her sister and son.“It is smaller but I have to do it to make it work,” she said. “I pay $575 a month for the room.“I work 39 hours a week and when I can I work extra shifts.“By the time I pay for my son, rent, electricity, water, laundry, groceries and transportation, that is my paycheque gone.”Ms Dillas said she wanted to be a part of the documentary because many people are oblivious, or ignore, the level of poverty on the Island.“A lot of people have turned a blind eye to the biggest problems we face in the Island,” she said. “There are voices that want to be heard and people need to see the other side of Bermuda and not just the good side; people need to stop covering it up.”She added that there were lots of misconceptions about people struggling to make ends meet.“Just because I have a job it doesn't make it any easier than someone who is unemployed,” she said. “People actually look for you to be able to do more than if you don't have a job. Legal aid, financial assistance they will turn you down and say your household income is too high. They look at the entire household to determine if you are going to get help, which I think is unfair. My son is my responsibility, not anyone else's who I live with. I pay for him.”Another issue is debt. Once you've accumulated it repaying it can be difficult and she questioned the rationale behind incarceration of those who were unable.“When it comes to debt, there is no simple way to clear your past debts when you are trying to survive and pay your current bills,” she said. “But incarcerating women for their bills will force them to lose their jobs and it will take a while to find another one and then they lose their children which is more money government has to pay to take care of their children.“I think they should change the law, if they see people trying and keep in contact with the company they shouldn't arrest them. People's circumstances vary.”She added: “It takes a lot for us to go ask for help, we have to forget about our pride and push it aside and then they make it seem like we put ourselves in these situations and just want a handout.”The documentary shows the struggle women like Ms Dillas go through to find employment, pay their bills and afford rent. It also shows families being evicted from homes, mothers losing care of their children and facing incarceration as a result of their inability to pay off debts.The women are all poor, black, single mothers.Ms Feldman explained why the Coalition chose to focus on this demographic: “While poverty is not faced only by black individuals or mothers, it is the focus of the film as those are the members of our community who the Coalition predominantly serves. Others who struggle have not been given voice but must be considered in the broader debate on poverty our fathers, our young men, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, the indigent and white members of our community.”In addition to the 16 stories the documentary offers professional analysis of the deteriorating social and economic situation here.Ms Feldman added she hopes the documentary can be used as a learning tool and shed light on common misconceptions about the issues surrounding poverty in Bermuda“It is easy for those who do not struggle to criticise they should try harder, they should work harder, they should not have so many children, they should be better parents. The film will help to demonstrate that sometimes this is not so easy for individuals who already struggle just to meet their basic needs,” she said. “Instead of turning our backs in critique, we need to come together as a community and say, ‘how can we help'? What are the changes that need to be made both in terms of legislation and social policy that will change the trajectory that we are on? And beyond that, how can each of us as individuals make a difference in the lives of those around us?”The documentary will debut at the Bermuda Docs Festival on April 30 at 8.30pm at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.Tickets can be purchased for $15 at www.bdatix.bm, All Wrapped Up Home in Washington Mall, the Money Shop, Dundonald Street and Fabulous Fashions, Heron Bay Plaza, Southampton. Tickets may also be ordered by telephoning 232-2255.