For those who have been following along, seniors who objected to recent rent increases by the Bermuda Housing Trust, have lost their appeals.

Each of them recently received one of those standard pro forma notices from the Rent Commissioner which advised that he was satisfied that the increases for their units – $75.00 a month across the board – were reasonable in the circumstances of their tenancies.

"What circumstances?", one of those seniors penned – in frustration or exasperation (or both?) – on the copy which she sent me.

I get her point. But unfortunately the legislation which governs the Rent Commissioner expressly forbids him from taking into account the personal circumstances of the tenant, or of the landlord for that matter. He is instead simply required to consider what similar size premises might fetch on the open market.

This means unlucky seniors on limited fixed incomes are going to have to somehow dig deeper to come up with the funds to meet an increasing cost of living that keeps on increasing daily, or so it seems, for them: whether electricity, groceries or health care. Meanwhile, their monthly pensions do not even keep pace with the annual rate of inflation.

They are on the front-line of the battle of survival in Bermuda today – and it is a losing battle for them. They either fall behind or they go to Financial Assistance cap in hand.

But there are other ways to help and recently I asked in this newspaper: what is a senior to do?

The Housing Trust was meant to be one way to assist, in accommodation: a modest home at a less than modest rent affording seniors the opportunity to live on mostly very modest pensions without resort to financial dependence.

One reader who wrote to me sounded a note of caution. There's a lesson here and that is the need to prepare now (read save) for our retirement years. True that. Thankfully, we now have in place a mandatory pension scheme by law for everyone which will be in addition to the pension people receive from Government.

But many of the seniors who need help today never had the benefit of even a voluntary scheme.

They are not a growing number and I am sure that they can be reasonably quantified so that we can ascertain the full extent of the problem, and what will likely be needed to help supplement their incomes.

It need not all fall to Government either. I was pleased to observe shortly after my first article a tag day for a new group (new to me, that is) dedicated to addressing the social needs of the youth and the elderly: the Aerie Foundation.

This is what Bermuda needs more of. I was particularly impressed with the following aspects to their seniors' programme, namely to:

• provide innovative, affordable, high-quality services to support senior citizens in their homes and in the community;

• to build the capacity of Bermudians to meet the needs of an ageing population; and,

• to collaborate between organisations working with and for seniors.

My hats off to this charitable, faith-based organisation about which you can find more on www.aeriefoundation.org. I hope and pray that they will find a way to strengthen the means we already have and not duplicate or compete.

The Bermuda Housing Trust might be a good place to start collaboration.

Another reader suggested that the Trust consider having a representative from each of the five housing developments sit on the board of trustees. The trustees can by law currently number anywhere from seven to eleven and they are appointed each year by Government. It's worth considering in my view. Most of the resident seniors are active, that is physically independent and mentally capable. They may be older but they are definitely not stupid.

This way there's a real prospect for communication on issues and problems and solutions at the various residences between the resident seniors and the trustees.

One other solution is to wait until the Auditor General completes his audit of the Trust and to see what he has to tell us upon completion. The Auditor General took the Trust to court to establish the right to do so – which cost the Trust around $78,000, he estimated – and he promised in his most recent report to commence an auditing this year.

The Trust is not a registered charity. It was formed under a 1965 Act of the Legislature. It is not subject to the Charities Act 1978 which requires registered charities to file financial statements annually.

The Housing Trust is permitted by its statute to raise funds publicly, although I am not aware that it has in recent years. It is also exempt from land tax and stamp duty.

But it needn't just be about money. In years gone by, maintenance and upkeep of properties was provided at nominal or no cost. A similar call to arms needs to go out today to Bermuda's trades people and businesses.

Today it's them. Tomorrow it's you.