A DOZEN homeless men sheltering in a derelict building in Warwick have been forced to move on because the property has become too dangerous.

And campaigner for the homeless Fern Wade said the incident demonstrates that homelessness is an island-wide problem, with hundreds of down-and-outs spread out across the island, not just in Hamilton.

Mrs. Wade, who helps feed and clothe the homeless through her charity The Hands of Love Mission, told thethat the men were occupying a property on the Railway Trail near her charity office on Camp Hill, Warwick.

She said that all but one of the occupants recently moved out and are now camping illegally on the parish's beaches.

Mrs. Wade is urging Government to consider opening up homeless shelters across the island, rather than have a single centralised unit in Hamilton.

"There were 12 people living in this derelict house but there's no one there now because it became too dangerous ? they're all camping illegally on the beach," Mrs. Wade said.

"Government needs to find out how many homeless people there are on the island, but I foresee having a shelter in every parish.

"This is an island-wide issue and while I accept that there needs to be a shelter in Hamilton because that's the place where most of these people frequent, we should at least consider having shelters in say, Dockyard and St. George's.

"I know that a lot of people panic and scared about this issue but we all need to share the burden."

Mrs. Wade argued that smaller shelters would not be expensive to build and could also be maintained by residents.

And she suggested that existing abandoned properties could be utilised for the homeless, pointing out potential sites such as Morgan's Point and the baselands.

"We shouldn't be looking for Government to do everything, although Government does need to be serious about providing shelters," she said.

"But I think everybody needs to try and help out. Unfortunately, Bermuda is very expensive and I don't think that's ever going to decrease because everybody's wanting bigger and better things ? but not everyone makes $100,000 a year. World-wide there is always going to be a number of poor but I think Bermuda is small enough and wealthy enough to solve this problem."

Mrs. Wade also condemned the recent incarceration of persistent beggar Jinx Darrell. Darrell was jailed for three years earlier this month after stealing $7.

"People need to remember that homeless people are human beings first," Mrs. Wade said.

"We have some human beings being treated like animals while we treat some animals like human beings ? human beings have to be more important.

"I'm not criticising the magistrate in this case ? he has to do what the law says ? but what is the point of jailing a man at a cost of $70,000 a year to the taxpayer?

"Our prison has become a homeless shelter. There they can get three meals a day and some shelter and clothing but other than that they're just doing the three Rs ? reading, relaxing and re-offending.

"Clearly, Mr. Darrell needs help and he's not going to get that in jail. The problem is there's no treatment and I think treatment should be mandatory. All we're doing is applying band aids to the problem rather than tackling the disease."