Putting A Stop To Elder Abuse

By Hannah Sutherland - Peace Arch News - June 07, 2008

After 26 years of fighting to put the spotlight on elder abuse, Joyce Schmalz is bringing the issue centre stage once again in a workshop slated for next weekend.
Called Come and Live With Me Mom: An Exposé of Financial Exploitation and Abuse of Older Adults, the event lands on the second anniversary of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
By doing a live dramatization, Schmalz will show participants just how subtle elder abuse can be.
Whether it’s a family member pressing a senior for his or her money, or adult children taking over their elderly parents’ financial decisions, Schmalz said the signs aren’t always easy to recognize.

“We’re trying to make people aware,” the White Rock resident said.
“People are falling into these traps all the time.”
Schmalz said financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse, and is often executed by humiliating, threatening or isolating a senior.

“So often a member of the family is involved,” she said.
“There’s a lot of shame and embarrassment when it’s a member of the family.
“The people that keep quiet about these things keep a lot of baggage around because they’re afraid to say anything.”
Schmalz said elder abuse is not an official crime since offenses such as theft, fraud, extortion and forgery can happen to anyone of any age.
“Some of this awful behaviour is not in the criminal code.”

When she began to encounter elderly victims of abuse, she started to get more involved in the issue. Schmalz became co-founder of the Coalition to Eliminate the Abuse of Seniors, and is now an honorary board member.
She continues to write workshop material and presentations on the topic.
She will be speaking at the workshop June 14 at the Rotary Field House, 2197 148 St.
Presented by the Peninsula Community Response Network, the event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.
A lunch, strawberry tea, door prizes and other speakers will also be featured.
Admission is free, but seating is limited.

RSVP to South Fraser Women’s Services Society at 604-536-9611 , ext. 221 or White Rock Come Share at 604-531-2502 .

SOURCE: BCLocalNews
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