Government has put bus stops before the Island's seniors, according to Shadow Seniors Minister Louise Jackson. And she highlighted the plight of an 84-year-old Bermudian woman being forced to leave the Island on Thursday because of soaring rents. “This is a real crisis now,” Mrs. Jackson told The Royal Gazette.

Mrs. Jackson said the woman's apartment was sold, and the new landlords were demanding $1,500 for her rent - totally out of her league.

“She went through all the agencies, the National Seniors Office... every so-called helping service, and with no results.

“She is now having to leave the Island (by January 22)... she has 50 years worth of stuff to pack up. She's 84, she can't get her things packed.

“I think that points to the fact that there are hundreds of seniors in this country who are being supported by their families who are actually able to clothe them and give them shelter. But those like this lady, without family, literally cannot live in this country. I don't know what else can be done to prod Government to treat our seniors with dignity. To see them actually thrown out of their homes now - it isn't conscionable.”

Government rest homes are also a huge problem, she said. “There are four Government parish rest homes, and only one is open and fully functioning - the Pembroke Rest Home.”

The Devonshire Rest Home was damaged in Hurricane Fabian. “There have been some repairs done on the outside, but none on the inside,” said Mrs. Jackson. “They have completely closed down.”

The St. George's and Sandys Rest Homes have both been closed for years for renovations, she added. The Sandys Rest Home has been closed since 2001, and is due to open as a day care/place for seniors to stay while families are on vacation. The St. George's Rest Home has been closed since 1999, when health officials deemed it uninhabitable, and Government has promised it will be reopened with four different levels of care this year - a promise Mrs. Jackson cast doubt on.

Just before Christmas, Mrs. Jackson visited Lefroy House in Sandys, which was also damaged during Fabian. “The damage has not been repaired. They have lost 12 spaces in their female unit, they've got wooden floors, the roof is leaking. It's not good enough.”

As one staff member at Lefroy House pointed out to her: “They have rebuilt all the bus shelters with Bermuda stone... and yet you have seniors' homes which are still not repaired after Fabian.”

Mrs. Jackson said she was concerned, and brought the matter up in the House of Assembly just before Christmas. “I thought, if I speak about it, surely there would be something done after Christmas.

“After all, they've been able to fix the bus shelters, even the SPCA so animals can be housed - but seniors still have no place to go... Government have done nothing.

“The priority for seniors is so low for Government. These are people who've been working all their lives, paying taxes, and when facilities for them are unavailable nobody seems to care.”

Mrs. Jackson also told the story of another woman who is being cared for by her family.

“They put her in an apartment in their house they used to get rent for... They now have a shortfall of over $1,000 a month on their mortgage. And she's being denied Financial Assistance because she owns shares in a company.

“Well, if this woman has to go into a rest home surely people should understand the shares won't get her more than a year or so... Seniors really don't have anywhere to go.

“The National Seniors Office can point them in the direction of various charities and organisations - but when these aren't designed to help in any way, they are left out in the cold. Where do they go?

“The priorities of this Government leave so much to be desired, it's pathetic. They are making bus shelters out of Bermuda stone, and Government rest homes? Not repaired.”

Health Minister Patrice Minors was unavailable for comment last night.