World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. This event is held every year on June 15th. It is estimated that 5 million older persons are abused, neglected, and exploited every year. In addition, elders throughout the United States lose an estimated $2.6 billion or more annually due to elder financial abuse.You can help to raise awareness about elder abuse by sharing this information with friends and family. What else can you do to help?
become a long-term care ombudsman - in Pasco County contact the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas (727) 570-9696) to learn more about volunteering to help the elderly.
if you know a caregiver - offer to help them, so they can take a few hours break.
learn about the 12 things that anyone can do to prevent elder abuse by clicking here.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15th, 2013. According to the Administration on Aging, "Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation". What are some of the warning signs of elder abuse?
Signs of neglect:
lack of basic hygiene, medical aids (i.e. glasses, medications), left
without care if confined to a bed, or untreated bed sores.
financial abuse:
caregiver has control of the senior's finances and does not use the
money to take care of the senior's needs or the older adult is giving
large amounts of money or gifts to their caregiver.
psychological abuse
physical abuse
You can learn more about the signs of abuse here and learn more on what you can do to protect Seniors from abuse by reading the National Center on Elder Abuse factsheet. In addition, the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs also has a webpage about how to report elder abuse and how to prevent it.
If
you suspect that an older adult is being abused, you should call the
Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. Another great resource is the
Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas elder helpline: 1-800-963-5337.
If the senior lives at a nursing home or assisted living facility, a
volunteer from the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman program may be able
to help. You can contact them via the elder helpline: 1-800-963-5337.
A previous post described the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2012. The purpose of this day is to educate people about elder abuse and how to prevent it from happening. Ethos, a non profit organization in Massachusetts, recently used a whole new way to raise awareness of elder abuse. They organized a flash mob at a Roche Brothers grocery store. A flash mob is is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual act for a short time, then disperse. In this case, it is more like a "smart mob", since this group was organized and planned ahead of time. More than twenty five seniors and staff members from the Ethos Age Well West Roxbury program sang and performed a choreographed dance to the Beatles "When I'm 64" at a grocery store. Here is the video:
You can find out more about elder abuse by clicking here.
The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas offers a free helpline, which provides assistance and referral information on government funded programs, non-profit agencies, and for-profit businesses that serve seniors in our county.
