Jun 03, 2010 12:00 am
By M. Dirk Langeveld, Staff Writer
Jun 03, 2010
Two speakers outlined problems and solutions Wednesday to a task force on abuse of the elderly.
Kelley Glidden, director of community education with the Abused Women's Advocacy Project, said the elderly are vulnerable to abuse because of physical limitations and the dependency on others for care. She said they also follow regular routines that exploiters can pick up on, and are often isolated from other people who might notice the abuse.
Glidden said one of the more common abuses is financial exploitation. She said this includes the illegal use of a disabled person's money and property, forcing someone to turn over their assets or power of attorney, forging a person's signature on checks, identity theft and overcharging for services. This misconduct can often be joined with other forms of abuse.
“Domestic violence and elder abuse can overlap in certain ways,” Glidden said. “The abuser is often dependent on the victim in some way.”
The American Association for Retired Persons claims that 90 percent of people who exploit the elderly are family members. Glidden said adult children might move in with elderly parents to access housing and income, and abuse them physically. In other cases, domestic assaults between partners may continue into old age.
Lauri Preo of Adult Protective Services said she has recently been receiving more calls regarding sexual assaults in nursing homes, including by residents there. Glidden said it is estimated that people older than 60 make up 18 percent of sexual assault victims, but that the crimes mostly go unreported.
“It is very concerning,” Preo said. “We've got a lot of elderly people and not a lot of young people, and it's a rural state.”
Chief Robert Federico and Detective Gary Hill of the Norway Police Department said the elderly are also vulnerable to scams, which often play off emotions. Federico said one woman lost $10,000 after receiving a call claiming that her grandson had been arrested in Canada and needed bail money. He said people are often reluctant to admit to getting swindled because they are embarrassed or fearful they might be seen as impaired.
“What we really have to do is stop it from happening in the first place,” he said.
Glidden said warning signs that someone might be abusing an elder include a person not letting an elder socialize with others, reappearing in an elder's life at a time of stress, or making large withdrawals from bank accounts. She suggested asking a person about what they've noticed in private, but also said they should not make assumptions or pressure a person into talking.
Glidden said resources are available for people who think abuse is taking place, including civil lawyers to restore lost rights and assets and the District Attorney's and Attorney General's offices to prosecute criminal matters. Preo said Adult Protective Services has a confidential hot line to take reports of elder abuse and works closely with police.
SOURCE: The Sun Journal
__________________________________________
Click for Updates, More Cases and Resources
Search Right Col/Labels for More Posts/Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment