Seniors find no one is free from being victim
About 5 million affected, but only 84 percent report
BY TERRI SANGINITI AND GINGER GIBSON
THE NEWS JOURNAL
AUGUST 19, 2008
Growing up in Wilmington's Little Italy section, Mary Aiello recalled how people came together in hard times and looked after each other.
But times have changed.
Now 84, Aiello worries about crime and other dangers brought on by a new set of hard times and lack of values.
No one is free from becoming a victim of crime, she said.
Sunday afternoon, a 92-year-old New Castle man became a crime victim when he was knocked unconscious from behind shortly before 3 p.m. while delivering some eggplants to an elderly friend in the 200 block of Schafer Blvd. near New Castle.
County police spokesman Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said when the man regained consciousness, he found his car keys and 2006 silver Chrysler Town & Country minivan missing.
It's estimated that at least 5 million seniors are victimized each year, yet 84 percent of the incidents go unreported.
Adult Protective Services investigates domestic elder abuse only, which accounts for 95 percent of elder abuse in Delaware, Williams said.
"A lot of times, an older person is afraid to report it," Williams said. "They are ashamed or fear retaliation. They fear their family might put them in a nursing home."
The state's Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection investigates abuse in nursing homes and other facilities, such as the incident reported to police Sunday afternoon at a Seaford nursing home.
Sharon Merriman-Nai, with the National Center on Elder Abuse, said in cases where a senior citizen is attacked during a crime, it takes them longer to recover, and when they are exploited financially, they cannot rebound financially.
But she said there are no statistics substantiating that seniors are at more risk for crime.
Abridged
SOURCE: The News Journal - De. USA
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