A derelict building in a forgotten corner of Bermuda could be put to good use providing a roof over the heads of homeless workers on the Island, instead of them having to huddle under bushes and makeshift shelters.

The building is part of the former American tracking station complex in St David?s and has lain disused for ten years.

It could be readily converted into a dormitory-style hostel with basic facilities for the homeless workers to sleep, wash and prepare food.

That?s the vision of Mitchell Watson and a group of supporters who are in the process of setting up the Poor People?s Party to act as a pressure group and voice for those who have fallen off society?s radar screen.

What is needed is permission from the landlord and the will of the Government to provide support.

Mr. Watson believes the project would be largely self-fulfilling with volunteers providing the backbone to operate the shelter and carry out remedial work.

The first step is to locate the landlord of the disused building near the water catchment at St David?s and then present the idea to the Government.

When Mr. Watson, 50, was one of the Island?s homeless workers, he stumbled across the building and decided to use it as a temporary base. It provided safety and a roof over his head and by creating his own outdoor barbecue he had all the creature comforts he needed to get back on his feet.

After living there for four months Mr. Watson was able to move on to proper accommodation. His experience of living outside of society?s safety net has persuaded him that the building can provide a genuine short-term answer for many others who are now in the same situation where he once found himself.

This Saturday Mr. Watson and some of those involved in the embryonic Poor People?s Party, as well as homeless workers and others interested in his idea will be meeting up near the Gombeys Restaurant at Clearwater beach to see the building for themselves.

He points out that the homeless shelter would be for those who have jobs. It would provide them with some stability and an address. The building would not be used to house drug addicts.

Mr Watson said: ?I?m in the process of forming the Poor People?s Party to deal with the underground issues that the main parties ? the UBP and PLP ? have not got a handle with.

?We are coming up with a ten-point programme so all the people who are desperate and have been left behind have someone to speak for them.?

The building could be rented from the Government and the Poor People?s Party would help, along with volunteers, to make it habitable.

?I?d call on the community to come in as volunteers to help with cooking and remedial work and part-time teachers to help help the guys with their reading and writing,? said Mr. Watson.

?Somewhere to live is something that everyone takes for granted until they are in the position where they have nowhere to go. Being in an unstable position in the third richest country in the world puts you in a great depression. And it is the young Bermudian men who do not have a home who are going into the prison.?

The building would be somewhere to share bathroom facilities, a kitchen and generally for people to get back on their feet again.

Mr Watson said: ?We will bring our committee to the Government and speak to them about what we would do if it turned the building over to us. It wouldn?t cost the people of Bermuda a penny.?

Mr Watson?s supporters and others interested in the idea can meet outside the Gombeys Restaurant at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday.