agree that the senior citizens who helped build this extraordinary economy should be treated well and with dignity in their later years.

That is why this newspaper's photograph last week of homeless older citizens camped on a Parson's road sidewalk near the Salvation Army's shelters came as such a shock to Bermudians. If there was any doubt that this newspaper sets the agenda in Bermuda the reaction to that photograph was the proof. First the Corporation of Hamilton reacted and tried to hide the people away. Then the Ministry of Health went running. The politicians followed, doubtless hoping that there are votes in help for senior citizens. They were all there because of the much criticised Royal Gazette but they could have gone on their own days or weeks before. The Royal Gazette focused the attention. Will it get any thanks? Probably not.

The problem of homeless people is certainly not unique to Bermuda. In fact, Bermuda has done rather well with the increasing numbers of homeless largely because Government long ago made the sensible decision to encourage the caring and thrifty Salvation Army to run the shelters.

There seems to be very little public understanding of how and why so much homelessness has come about in recent years, some of it even by choice. Part of the problem stems from the fact that people who need some care but have no one who is willing to look after them are let out of our institutions as "not in need of being institutionalised''. Other countries have done exactly the same thing. Too often the only place the people have to go is the streets.

Some of the homeless clearly have alcohol problems and are content to move from the night shelter to the area of the liquor stores yet, supposedly, liquor is not to be sold to alcoholics. The purchase of the liquor takes what little money they have and consuming the liquor prevents them from working. We believe the cycle is allowed to go on because alcohol is not sold with a conscience.

Basically the shelters run by the Salvation Army are night shelters and clearly there is need for a day shelter for those who have nowhere to go when they leave the night shelter. That, of course, is not the real answer because the real answer rests in preventing people becoming homeless in the first place.

It may well be that Bermuda needs a homeless workshop where people can be occupied while earning some money. There is dignity in being occupied and companionship and more safety than the streets in a shelter.

Bermuda must recognise that without the Salvation Army and such people as Fern Wade of the Hands of Love Ministry the problem would be much more severe.

Surely there is room in this opulent society to take good care of the people in need, especially the old and infirm who are in need.

We have in Bermuda charities devoted to almost every need, well run effective charities doing very important jobs. What we need now is an energetic group to form a charity devoted to help for the homeless.