“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness … the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.” — Thomas Sankara

Bermuda is another world; the “good morning” greeting as we pass each other is still an expectation, not an exception. Our instinct to help those in need has not faded, but the cost of living has many of us doing the maths on just how much compassion we can afford. We call it the care conundrum: when people want to do more, yet have less time, energy or means to give.

Families who once took in relatives now struggle to cover their own expenses. Employers who used to say “come in on Monday” now think twice, because keeping the doors open already takes all they have. Even donors who give generously carry their own worries about the rising costs and uncertainties they are also faced with.

At Home, we witness at close quarters the impact of economic hardship, on those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. And we understand that the widespread financial pressure in our community limits the capacity of many individuals to donate.

The trend of rising living costs causing fewer people to donate to charities is evident elsewhere. In Britain, for example, only 50 per cent of people said they donated to charity in the past 12 months, according to the UK Giving Report 2025, produced by the Charities Aid Foundation. This marks a significant fall from 61 per cent in 2016. The most common reason given for not donating was affordability. In the US, Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy has tracked a similar trend.

In this challenging environment, we at Home are enormously grateful to the community for coming together to support the collective effort to tackle homelessness. Corporate and individual donors have been extraordinarily generous with their financial support, while many more people have given time, effort, expertise and facilities.

In 2024 alone, we worked with more than 400 volunteers, who helped to prepare meals for our clients, paint our buildings, enhance our living spaces, and bring much needed groceries and household supplies.

Such generosity enables Home to pursue the mission of ending homelessness and providing those who have no home of their own with shelter, access to the services they need, guidance on household finances, a thorough understanding of a tenant’s rights and responsibilities and employment opportunities.

Not to forget the supportive local businesses, who quietly provide haircuts, do laundry and provide professional services, and the property owners who approach us with the offer of an affordable apartment.

This is where Bermuda’s true strength reveals itself. Even in a time of strain, we continue to show up for one another in ways large and small.

We salute our community supporters. They are the reason that last year Home was able to prevent or end homelessness for 85 people, house 21 rough sleepers during the winter, support 49 people into settled housing, help 29 people find jobs, and take on 306 new clients.

If there is any madness here, let it be the courage Sankara described. The courage to work with what we have instead of waiting for more. The courage to treat the mission to end homelessness as shared work, not someone else’s job.

The courage to speak life into those in a hard moment, and to walk with them on the road to stability. The care conundrum is real, but so is our capacity to act, even when the sums are tight.

• Omar Dill is a case manager at Home and holds a degree in psychology and sociology