community will continue to pay the consequences'', the Coalition for the Protection of Children has warned.

Coalition co-chairman Ms Margaret Hearn issued the warning after a statement by the Social Services Minister last week that the Island's welfare resources were "stretched to the limit.'' On Friday, the Hon. Quinton Edness told Parliamentarians that his Ministry was hard pressed to keep up with the demand for such services as foster care. "We haven't been able to increase the staff in that area,'' he said. "We need more professionals and foster care homes.'' This week, Ms Hearn issued a one-page statement saying Government had better come up with the money or the consequences of failing to meet the needs of "children and families at risk'' will choke society.

"It is no accident or mystery that violent crime has increased dramatically over the last five years,'' she said. It is a direct result of families living in crisis -- living with lack of opportunity, unemployment and overcrowding.'' The answer, in her view, is to stem such problems before they perpetuate themselves.

"The cycle of violence can only be broken by allocation of resources to reach out to families in crisis,'' she said. "Without intervention, the cycle will continue.'' In an effort to put some pressure on Government, Ms Hearn's organisation has issued a public challenge to the Finance Ministry to come forth with the required funds. "The Coalition will continue its fight for the recognition by the Government and by the community of the importance to us all of allocation of resources to these services,'' she said.

Consequently, "we challenge the Minister of Finance to re-allocate funds to the Ministry of Health and Social Services out of budgets for cosmetic programmes and (to) re-direct funds to alleviate the root causes of the decline in the quality of life in Bermuda''.