Taking care of one of our community’s most vulnerable population

 

Thursday, June 15 was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and communities around the globe utilized it to reach out to seniors and provide advice and resources for those who need help or to those who are trying to help others.

Family Violence Liaison, Lesley Lawton, said that having just celebrated Seniors Week, it’s important to recognize the victims of elder abuse and get people talking. “We wanted to get the conversation started about elder abuse. Such as what is it and what can you do. So, if you are being abused or if you have a loved one or even a friend, acquaintance, or peer that is being abused, what you can do for them and how you can respond if they reveal the abuse is happening and respond in a way that is helpful and not make them shut down.”

Two public educators from Wellsprings Family Resource and Crisis Centre, Gillian Kokotailo and Shelagh Watson, gave presentations and answered questions. Following the Wellspring talks, two members of the Whitecourt RCMP, Constables CunCannon and Sarginson, gave seniors insight on the criminal aspects of elder abuse. They touched base on several instances that seniors can sometimes get trapped in including pushy door-to-door salesmen who won’t take no for an answer and email or phone scams. If someone won’t leave your property or you receive threatening calls or emails asking for money, call the police because they are here to help you.

“It’s more common than people realize and I think it’s similar to domestic violence in the sense that often the abuse is by a loved one so people are very hesitant to come forward because they still love that person very much and they don’t want to see that person in trouble,” said Lesley, adding “they want the abuse to stop but they don’t want to end that relationship.”

Seniors can be a vulnerable population in society so sharing information with them and others about how prevalent elder abuse is in Alberta, the country, and throughout the world will certainly draw positive attention to the issue. That attention will help people come forward because they will feel they have support to do so. “It’s the idea that people don’t want to get involved in other people’s family matters, but it is everybody’s business if someone is being abused,” said Lesley.

For those who need advice, there are several different resources at your disposal. “There’s the Family Violence Helpline which is 310-1818 which anyone can call. That’s for all types of family abuse. If you aren’t sure what to do, you can call them and they can give you more information. If it’s a criminal matter, you can call the police. If the person is in a home or care facility and it’s the care providers who are doing the abuse, then you can call 1-888-357-9339,” explained Lawton.

“Here in Whitecourt we have the Wellspring Family Resource Centre and they aren’t just family violence and they’re not just the shelter. They have different outreach workers who can help and they can provide a safe place for someone to go if they’re not safe.” The Wellspring crisis number is 780-778-6209.

Abuse, in all forms, cannot be ignored away. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child and while true, it can also be said that it also takes a village to protect that child even once they’ve grown. If you suspect elder abuse, tell someone.