Have you ever experienced living on a broken road, where your bed is a dirty, cold park bench and your bathroom is a nearby bush?

Have you ever faced cold winters with nothing to keep you warm but an old rag, or hot summers without a lovely, air-conditioned house?

This is the everyday life of a homeless person in Bermuda. Many of us, who are fortunate enough to have homes, tend to stereotype homeless people.

Many people who walk across the street and see a homeless person either look the other way or frown upon them. Sometimes cruel names are used such as 'filth', 'scum' and 'bums'. We look down upon these people and judge them, but is it always their fault?

After researching the homeless situation in Bermuda, I have realised how sad and tragic a homeless person's life is and that we often take for granted how lucky we are to live in a safe, secure and loving home environment. I was very stereotypical myself, and I did not actually realise some of the reasons many people might live on the streets.

I always thought that homeless people were either "druggies" or had mental health problems, but in many cases, these are not the only reasons. There are many other compelling reasons as well. There are many people who are homeless for reasons such as the break up of families, job loss, or physical or emotional abuse at home.

Society has shunned them not only in Bermuda but globally. Many people are also scared of homeless people, and others are too disgusted to ever lend a helping hand.

In 2000, the Bermuda Government took a census of the homeless population in Bermuda. This turned out to be a very challenging project because of the transient nature of the homeless. Bermuda used two categories to categorise the homeless population, which were called "the non-sheltered" and "the sheltered."

The non-sheltered population was made up of people who sleep outdoors in cars, caves, Railway trails, old buildings or doorways. The sheltered populations were those who stayed temporarily in shelters. By the end of the tally, interviewers had counted 39 homeless people living in non-sheltered places, and 65 who were living in temporary adult shelters.

Recently, The Salvation Army, which operates one of the only homeless shelters in Bermuda, tried to compile their own database of Bermuda's homeless population. Mr. Lionel Cann, of the Salvation Army, is a remarkable man who dedicates an enormous amount of his time to helping the homeless.

Mr. Cann said the task was a very difficult one as finding the time to interview all the people they came into contact with was quite difficult. He believes that the number of homeless people is in the region of 300! Mr. Cann spoke of the many different reasons people become homeless on the Island.

A more recent cause of the homelessness in Bermuda is the recent skyrocketing of the cost of living. Sadly, many people have become displaced because of this. Mr. Cann spoke about what is being done to help the homeless. The Salvation Army runs a programme called "Dreaming In Colour" designed to help homeless people understand their predicament and get their lives back on track.

This programme helps people in many different ways. They are taught money management and anger management. They are taught how to interview for a job and volunteers help to teach them skills such as computer programming. Hopefully, this will help to give many of them a new start on life.

Mr. Cann also praised the work that the Seventh Day Adventist Church and what other organisations have done to reach out and help in many different ways. The Salvation Army and Seventh Day Adventist church do a soup run every day. Volunteers go out onto the streets and make enormous efforts to feed as many homeless people as possible. Mr. Cann welcomes young volunteers and encourages them to come out and lend a helping hand while earning community service hours.

Perhaps by doing this we, as young people, will have a better understanding and more compassion for people who are less fortunate then us. Perhaps we will think twice about judging, and instead try our best as a community to help.

Please call Mr. Cann as 292-2586 to volunteer your time on the soup run or in any other way you can.