Walk through Albuoy's Point any day of the week and you'll find homeless man Stephen Bean in a lawn chair on the grass.

Six years ago Mr. Bean was overwhelmed with the stresses of life and felt there was nowhere to go he turned to the streets and has been living there ever since.

He's one of the many homeless that live in the City of Hamilton.

The Royal Gazette went on a walkabout with Dale Butler, to discover more about the people featured in the former Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation's documentary 'Out Among the Ins', which premieres this weekend.

Mr. Bean's worldly possessions fit in a duffel bag, which he hangs on "his" palm tree at Albuoy's Point.

Some other items, a piece of tarpaulin to throw over himself when it rains and blankets to shield his body from the cold, sit in a trolley nearby.

How he ended up there is best told in his own words: "Well honestly I was doing all the right things, but I stopped praying.

"Had I maintained my prayers I could have been able to keep a clear mind, I would have been able to save my family."

He continued: "I became angry with certain situations in my household and tried to fix situations myself and I got burned out. I came down here to get my head together, gave up my children, gave up everything, just walked away. I love my family but I just walked away."

He gets his daily nutrition from the Salvation Army, which stops by in the evenings to bring him food.

He also goes through trash cans, which he calls "cabinets", in search of edible items, money and other valuables.

"People take a lot of things for granted and they throw away a lot," he said.

One of the reasons he cannot get off the streets is because he is illiterate.

The other reason is health-related: Mr. Bean suffers from a knee injury which makes it difficult to work, or even walk for that matter.

He was given a leg brace three weeks ago by King Edward Memorial VII Hospital, but cannot afford to pay for the painkillers prescribed.

He is a mechanic by trade, and is proud of the fact that he gets by without asking for handouts he washes cars for money and sometimes gets things from people because he is polite.

He couldn't answer whether he was happy living at Albouy's Point, but said he has peace of mind there. "If it wasn't for me being in this predicament with my leg it would be OK, but when you have sickness and ailments it's not a place to be. It's very unsafe. I'm not really comfortable here."

Dozens of other homeless people are living on the streets of wealthy Hamilton. There are approximately 240 homeless island-wide.

Some, including 72-year-old Henry McCallen, are featured in Mr. Butler's documentary. The Progressive Labour Party MP spent months getting to know these individuals and their circumstances.

Men like Mr. McCallen left suits, money, cars and other luxuries behind to live on the streets.

He also left behind three girlfriends, and 11 children telling them: "Keep it all, I'll see you later".

During his 30-plus years on the streets, the former fisherman from St. David's has made many friends who give him money.

He said: "I don't beg for nothing I have a little pride left in me."

Also featured in the documentary is 63-year-old Dudley 'Gumbs' Smith, who was kicked out of various friends' homes before ending up on the streets in the 1960s.

'Gumbs', who used to work for Masters and Bermuda Motors in 1961 and 1962, was led by friends into a life of crime which included breaking and entering, stealing and accepting stolen goods.

He put an end to that in 1977, and has been making an honest living by washing between four and 14 cars a day.

Mr. Smith said: "My friends, they all started disappearing on me, all dying on me so I said I can't get in any more trouble. And on top of that I can't hurt my mother, she's almost 90.

"I must admit it is hard [being homeless]. The rain, the cold. I've been living out here 41 years, since 1968."

Earlston Hayward understands. He couldn't make ends meet and ended up being homeless for two years.

Still, he woke up each morning to go to work, then around midnight would wander the streets looking for shelter or cars to sleep in.

He told The Royal Gazette: "There are a few brothers I know who are homeless. All hours of the night they walk the street, a few of them younger than me, but some of them don't want to help themselves and are doing a pack [of crimes]."

Another man who wished to remain anonymous said: "[The situation] is pathetic right now because you have no one observing around the semi-ghetto area to see how many fellows are sleeping on the street.

"Right now I can read off 50 of them in the area."

He continued: "I think the general public need to help, but I hear them saying 'Government should do this', and 'Government should do that' but they should get off their a***s!"

Mr. Butler's documentary is being shown at the Liberty Theatre on Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $20 at the theatre.