As the island celebrated National Heroes Day, I was reminded that June 15 was also World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Perhaps this is fitting, given that many of our everyday heroes are seniors who have done their best to make Bermuda a better place for us all.

No one would argue that our seniors deserve a safe and happy environment where they are protected from abuse in any form. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Often, much depends on the moral compass of family members and individuals who are closest to them.

Recently, I read an article by Royal Gazette finance columnist Carla Seely warning of power-of-attorney abuse.

I also received the Age Concern newsletter, and in conjunction with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, I learnt that the organisation is launching a new advocacy campaign, Guardians for Justice: Protecting our Seniors.

The newsletter quotes data from the Department of Ageing and Disability Services. According to the report, 161 senior-abuse cases were reported in the past year. Of them 35 per cent were physical, 28 per cent involved financial exploitation, 23 per cent were psychological, 11 per cent involved neglect, and 3 per cent of the abuse cases were sexual.

The island needs an office of the public guardian for seniors and the disabled, or some similar service. This is not a new idea. In fact, in April 2022 a former Progressive Labour Party MP was appointed to lead a $60,000, one-year project to produce a paper on how such an office or service would be established and operated. Unfortunately, there has not been much progress since.

It has been estimated that by 2026, 25 per cent of our population will be over the age of 65 — and we are almost there. Given that many people are living longer, we are also seeing a change in lifestyles where children of seniors are becoming seniors themselves, which can compound or create additional difficulties.

These demographic changes were forecast. What was not foreseen was the large exodus of people from our shores who are no longer a part of the equation providing resources — financial and physical — to care for our ageing population, which puts more pressure on everyone.

Last year the Bermuda Government published the National Seniors Strategy 2024, outlining key actions it intends to take over six years. Although I did not see where it specifically mentioned establishing an office of the public guardian, it does say actions will be taken to enhance adult protection services and legislation, so they are appropriately resourced and structured to meet the protection needs of an ageing population.

Under the heading “Empowering Citizens”, the National Seniors Strategy lists actions that need to be taken. These include “Develop and implement immigration policies to increase the number of persons working in our economy”.

We need more than workers. We need citizens to sustain our population.

I would like to see the Government commit to producing a collaborative, well-researched, comprehensive immigration and population study, leading to the development of a strategy and plan Bermudians can get behind.

The goal would be to develop a multigenerational, sustainable Bermuda where citizens want to remain and/or return, and build their futures here with others they know share their aspirations, loyalty and commitment to our island home. There is nothing easy about this task, but for the good of us all, it must be done.

Disparate, box-ticking solutions provide nothing more than an illusion of progress.

• Linda Smith is the Shadow Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, and the MP for Southampton West Central (Constituency 31)