by Bobbie Sackman and Mara Schecter
Mar 2010
Nancy Smith, a 68-year-old Manhattan resident, was being abused emotionally and financially by her 23-year-old grandson, who she had raised.
Jewish Association for Services for the Aged, received an order of protection. The Jewish Association for Services for the Aging also got her locks changed and secured a court order to have her grandson removed from the home. Staff helped Smith get involved in a support group. Today, she says she is at peace in her home and feels freer and safer than she has in years.
Nancy Smith is not alone.
According to the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged, its 715 elder abuse clients are just the tip of the iceberg. There are currently nine elder abuse programs in New York City that help approximately 1,200 persons each year. Initially funded under the Department for the Aging, these programs have been put on the chopping block for the last two budget cycles.
But in January and July of last year, the City Council restored $849,000 for all of the elder abuse programs in New York City. (The Jewish Association for Services for the Aged gets over $400,000 of that for its elder abuse programs serving Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.)
In his most recent budget proposal released in January, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed eliminating these programs entirely. The Council of Senior Centers and Services, which is leading the campaign against the cuts, and the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged are committed to not letting that happen.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Gotham Gazette
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