Strengthening Families

In this current social environment, we are seeing increasing challenges for families and individuals. What we are experiencing as a community is unsustainable, and must be addressed.

At a meeting of over 80 social service agencies in Bermuda earlier this year, the following issues were identified as the top three prevalent presenting problems of clients needing services:
• Lack of healthy relationships
• Lack of education and life skills
• High cost of living

The key elements of strong families are
• Nurturing relationships,
• Quality support systems and
• Financial stability.

We are all looking for solutions and we want them now.

The Sustainable Development Roundtable hosted a public meeting on July 8, to examine this significant issue – what it means to each of us to embrace a stronger sense of family. One of the questions participants were asked to consider was the following:

Think about a time when you experienced a strong sense of family. What key ingredients made you feel that way?

BP Oil Spill: Potential Impact on Bermuda

Given the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico with the BP oil spill and the uncertainty about the fallout, the Sustainable Development Roundtable (SDRT) decided to convene a public panel discussion on June 29, 2010, to bring interested residents together to share information, concerns and ideas regarding the potential impact to Bermuda.

On the panel were representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of the Environment & Sports, the Bermuda Employers Council, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers.

Questions and answers from the audience focused on environmental and tourism issues, individual responsibility and the need to reduce demand on fossil fuels, and the importance of the insurance/reinsurance industry in Bermuda.

Look for it on CITV and let us know your concerns and the issues you think we should be discussing.