By JOYCE CASSIN
23 January, 2009
According to the World Health Organization, 5% of seniors experience some sort of abuse, says Raeann Rideout, regional elder abuse consultant with the Ontario Elder Abuse Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.
She told Northumberland County council recently that as much as 86% of elder abuse is never reported, mainly due to the fact that more than 80% of it is committed by family members or others in a position of trust.
In Ontario between 58,000 and 150,000 older adults are facing elder abuse, she said, and between 900 and 2,300 in Northumberland County.
The Northumberland Elder Abuse Response Network (NEARN) formed in March, 2006 to facilitate the planning and co-ordination of services related to elder abuse prevention in Northumberland, Sherry Gibson of Community Care Northumberland told council.
NEARN is committed to working toward creating a community for older adults that is safe and where seniors are treated with respect and dignity -- the kind of community that people want to grow up in -- and to grow old in, she said.
"NEARN membership is from a wide variety of organizations across the county, including health, social services, justice, seniors, housing, faith, education sectors, First Nations and individuals concerned about the issue of elder abuse," Ms. Gibson said.
One of their goals is to educate the public, with a focus on youth, she said.
She said kids learn about bullying at school and bullying grandma is the same thing.
Over the past two years they have created several programs to educate the public, in public forums, workshops, schools and even Girl Guides thanks to a grant from Ontario's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
Ms. Rideout noted elder abuse is not just a local problem but a global one -- one that sees police forces appointing dedicated officers to elder abuse.
"It's becoming such a problem that June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day," Ms. Rideout said.
For more information on NEARN, visit www.northumberlandcounty.cath
Then click on Community and Social Services and then Elder Abuse -NEARN.
No comments:
Post a Comment