When most of us think about homelessness, we picture someone sleeping on a bench, in a doorway or somewhere else in the open. We now know that homelessness in Bermuda is much broader than that. It includes people moving between temporary accommodation, staying with friends or relatives because they have nowhere else to go, living in virtually unlivable conditions or facing the very real prospect of losing their home.

For the first time, Bermuda has a national plan to end homelessness, built around the belief that homelessness should be prevented wherever possible and, when it does happen, it should be rare, brief and non-recurring.

The Progressive Labour Party committed to developing that plan and it has been developed and approved by Parliament. We will make it a reality by:

• Identifying people at risk earlier

• Improving co-ordination between agencies

• Expanding housing and support options

• Helping people move towards stable, independent living, rather than repeatedly cycling through crisis services

That work is already in progress at Astor House. Developed through a partnership between Government and Home, it provides transitional accommodation and support for men returning to the community after incarceration. It combines housing with case management, skills development and employment support.

We are also focused on expanding the number of affordable houses in the market and investigating ways to keep more people in their homes.

Your PLP government has an obligation to lead this work but ending homelessness will require a national effort. Organisations such as Home and The Salvation Army, our churches and charities, landlords, employers and families all have a role.

In a country as small and wealthy as Bermuda, homelessness is unacceptable.

The plan gives us direction and the work has already begun but ending homelessness will take time, persistence and partnership. As your government, the PLP is committed to seeing this through, executing this plan and achieving our goal of making homelessness rare, brief, non-recurring and most importantly, preventable.

• Lindsay Simmons is the Junior Minister of Home Affairs and Youth, Social Development and Seniors, and a Progressive Labour Party senator