She may be leaving the Island today, but the fight to live here is not over yet for Bermudian senior Winifred Dodd.

“We're not going to stop,” promised Dr. Melvin Dickinson, manager of the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged. “Don't think we're going to discard her once she leaves.”

Mrs. Dodd, 84, has been engaged in a battle against soaring rents since her landlord, Jean Holmes, passed away in April, 2003.

She has lived in an apartment on the Pembroke property for almost 38 years under Ms Holmes and the previous landlord, Gertrude Irene Holmes, paying less than $200 per month in rent.

However, with Ms Jean Holmes' death, the property became part of the G.I. Holmes Will Trust, held by the Bank of Butterfield. The beneficiaries of the Trust are Westmeath, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, the Committee of 25 and the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association.

Mrs. Dodd, a status Bermudian after living on the Island for more than 50 years, was informed that her rent will be increased to $1,500 - an amount she said she cannot afford to pay.

With no family in Bermuda, an array of medical bills relating to a car crash, a stroke and a serious fall, and no other affordable rental options on the Island, Mrs. Dodd was forced to return to her hometown of London, Ontario.

She was offered a room at Westmeath. However, not only was she unable to afford the roughly $4,000 per month accommodation, she was unwilling to enter a rest home, saying she was not ready for that move yet. Since her story was highlighted by The Royal Gazette a week ago, Mrs. Dodd has received several offers of help from locals.

“There's been six or so people that have come to help me pack,” she said. “Three have been just wonderful, they've stayed for hours, done all kinds of things.”

Some have been less than wonderful, however. Mrs. Dodd admitted several of her possessions have been stolen in the last week, including liquor and a room light. “I don't know what else is gone, it's hard to tell (in the confusion of packing),” she said. “But there are other things.”

However, despite her resentment at her situation, Mrs. Dodd still maintains she wants to return to Bermuda. “But I can't come back to this hullabaloo,” she said.

“I still prefer a place at Purvis Park or somewhere like that,” she said. Mrs. Dodd had applied for an apartment at Purvis Park, but was told the apartment would be let to someone else.

Friends at Purvis Park, however, have informed her the apartment is still empty and has not been let. Purvis Park is a seniors' housing complex managed by the Bermuda Housing Trust, formerly a private group which has now been absorbed into the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC).

BHC General Manager Vance Campbell has not returned repeated calls on the subject.

“We're working on it,” said Dr. Dickinson yesterday. “There's a lot of grey areas, with the bank... It hasn't been easy.”

Dr. Dickinson has received several calls from people wanting to help, including another rest home wanting to offer a room and others wanting to contribute to Mrs. Dodd's rent.

The Royal Gazette has also received several calls from parties wanting to contribute to the rent and directed them towards the Bank of Butterfield Trust department and Dr. Dickinson.

“It really all hinges on whether or not she can find somewhere to stay,” he said. “When you look at the cost of rents, it's phenomenal.

“My hands are basically tied. Unless someone comes here and says, I have a house for this price, it's not going to do any good.”

Accommodation in a place like Purvis Park would be ideal for Mrs. Dodd, he said, giving her company and a community to live in.

“She's lived here for 50 years, he's made her contribution,” he said. “If we can help her resolve this, that is one less senior with a problem - and that's really what we're all about.

“Seniors are facing some real perils here. Unless we get it all fixed, or at least try to, it's going to get worse for everyone. Even those who have money.”

Mrs. Dodd leaves today for Canada. She will spend three months in a hospital in Ontario receiving treatment relating to a stroke and then plans to search for an apartment - unless she can return home. “I want to come back,” she said. “I would come back here.”