All of Bermuda should agree on a set of core values that will help to guide responses to social problems, according to Martha Dismont of Family Centre.

Mrs Dismont believes that by outlining the Island’s fundamental beliefs in a national plan — bringing together the Bermuda Government, businesses, support agencies and communities — Bermuda can collectively begin to address problems such as unhealthy relationships, poor education and a lack of life skills.

“We are a polarised country at the moment because people have allowed themselves to make other things priorities instead of being in good relationships with people,” said the executive director of Family Centre.

This summer, the charity is celebrating its 25-year anniversary; Mrs Dismont shared with The Royal Gazette some stark statistics highlighting how it has played an increasingly significant role helping those in need.

The organisation assists an average of 428 families a year — more than double the amount from 2007 to 2008 and four times the amount it serviced on a yearly basis from 1990 to 2006.

Over the past seven years, it has provided counselling services to 3,000 families.

Since 2010, it has served 1,149 youths through various community programmes and provided training to 1,026 professionals.

“The amount of money that we have to raise, and how vigorously we raise it, is indicative of the problems we are having in Bermuda,” Mrs Dismont said.

“If Family Centre’s budget is $2.4 million, that budget is indicative of the level of challenges, struggles, problems we have in the community with families struggling.

“Frankly, if we look at the number of families that are struggling and the level of service that they need, Family Centre is probably not doing enough.”

She said today’s Bermuda was polarised “individually and collectively”.

“Part of the problem is that people have a bad model of the country not taking care of its people, that the interest and the priority is the capitalism rather than focusing on caring enough for your product or the people that are here, that you put your best foot forward as a result of the investment in people here,” she said.

“It’s missing and if you have core values, you would do that.”

Mrs Dismont believes that the “every man for himself” attitude is even impacting “our nature as Bermudians, in terms of being genuine with each other and caring about each other, particularly if you make it a priority to make the money”.

“Bermuda has not come together on what we believe,” she added. “The goal is to depolarise everybody.

“We have to rebuild our relationships, we have to strengthen our education system and we have to make sure we take care of those who are without skills.

“The answer is for the country to come together to draft what we want holistically.

“In every aspect, you have to establish your core values and what you believe first, and then you have teams go out and they start working on these things, and they are working towards something we decide as a country that we want for the country.”

According to Mrs Dismont, unaddressed trauma, or unhealthy relationships, as well as poor education and a lack of life skills, are at the root of the Island’s difficulties.

“The majority in this country know we have serious problems because every day people are talking about the concerns they have,” she said.

“People have tried for years in their own little space to resolve problems — it hasn’t necessarily resolved them.”

Mrs Dismont said everybody in Bermuda could be invited to contribute to the national plan, as they were for the Sustainable Development Plan a decade ago.

“We have the opportunity now to turn this around, but we have come together as a country,” she said.