Improving the lives of Bermuda’s children took centre stage at a community brainstorming session yesterday.

More than 80 people, including Wayne Scott, the Community Minister and Lovita Foggo, the Shadow Education Minister, gathered to discuss the Children’s Agenda of Priorities set out by the Inter Agency Committee for Children and Families (IAC).

The document aims to raise the profile of the needs of Bermuda’s children and the IAC hoped the meeting would develop solutions to some of the challenges identified. Grassroots stakeholders worked together to help to produce the Agenda, which comprises more than two years of hard work. This included the team carrying out interviews and holding focus groups with parents and children.

IAC chairwoman Martha Dismont said the meeting was being held on the United Nations’ Universal Day of the Child.

“The IAC is an association of social service providers who are very dedicated to collaboration, dedicated to advocacy for children and families,” she said.

“We’re passionate about setting up continuing care. In 2009 the IAC came together to see how we could go deeper. We discovered the top three issues plaguing families and youth.”

These are the lack of a sufficient education and a lack of basic life skills, with the main issue being “unhealthy relationships all over the place due to multi-generational, unaddressed trauma”.

A number of challenges were identified by the IAC and have been grouped into three key areas — survival rights, protection rights, and development and participation rights.

These challenges include poor attitudes and behaviours of parents being a risk factor for antisocial and gang activity; a high level of experimentation with alcohol and marijuana; the lack of affordable housing; the high cost of food; an increase in reported cases of child abuse; and an unfriendly juvenile justice system. A list of 10 critical priorities spanning all three sectors have been set out, and these were discussed by the community members present at the meeting.

The priorities include ensuring children have access to the support necessary to recover and build resiliency from trauma; that children and families have the education and skills necessary to secure a job that allows them to earn a living wage; that children and families live healthy lifestyles within the context of healthy social norms; that parents have positive parenting tools that prepare and encourage children; and that the community is empowered and participates in key decisions.

“Your mission today is to help us action what needs to take place to reverse these trends,” Mrs Dismont told the meeting. “It may not happen overnight but it must happen.

“You’re going to have to be patient, compassionate and seek to understand first. Stay with it. Our children and families are depending on us.”

Mr Scott said the desire to aid and support the well being of our children “really requires the community to work together”.

“It’s a community issue that we all must address,” he said. “A community-wide effort is needed to build a better future for our children. The Children’s Agenda and IAC are very important. We’ve have many discussions. I truly believe we can fix all of these problems, we need to effectively use our resources.

“The purpose of this meeting is getting everybody to come together. I look forward to seeing what those recommendations are.”

Mr Scott said a lot of focus tended to be on the disruptive behaviour of a few youths, but we must remember that there are a number of wonderful young people on our Island.

“We do have some serious challenges with our youth,” he said. “But I was at the opening of our youth parliament [this week] and it was refreshing to see such positive future leaders taking a stand.”

Each priority on the Agenda was assigned its own table at the meeting, with participants urged to visit three tables that carried the most interest for them. Discussions at each table lasted twenty minutes, and each table had a facilitator to guide discussion and note down the solutions suggested. Recommendations suggested included addressing the high cost of healthcare; the need for better access to affordable housing and food; a detailed study on child abuse; addressing multi-generational trauma; and reviewing the age of criminal responsibility.

The discussions are being kept confidential for now, but the IAC will outline the solutions brought forth once all the information has been assessed.

Other people in attendance at the three-hour brainstorming forum, held at the Bermuda Industrial Union Headquarters in Hamilton, included representatives from Bermuda Police Service, local charities and concerned residents.