Elder Abuse Awareness Month
This month is Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Every year there are many older Americans who are victims of elder abuse, through neglect and exploitation. It could be a neighbor, grandparent, or other loved one who experience some type of elder abuse. Elder abuse has many facets, from physical abuse to financial abuse to neglect and verbal abuse. Many elders have both tangible and intangible losses.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, our elders need even more of our attention. They face many psycho-social issues which we should be aware of at these critical times. Isolation of our elders can tend to be one of the most distressing times. Our elders will sometimes have the inability to verbalize things happening to them. Currently, with social distancing and other forms of social isolation, it is important to check on our loved ones on a regular basis. It has been documented that women and those over the age of 80 are more likely to experience some type of elder abuse.
Several years ago, Ave Maria Home participated in the Coordinated Response to Elder Abuse or otherwise known as CREA. This enabled elders to remove themselves from an abusive situation and relocate temporarily to Ave Maria until a more suitable situation could be established for that individual. Many times there were issues of self-neglect which was very troubling. COVID-19 has only made things worse for some of our elders in our communities. Many times elder abuse is under-identified and under-reported.
You can find more information about Elder Abuse on the Tennessee Adult Protective Service website or the Department of Human Services website. There is also the National Center on Elder Abuse which can give examples and has other widely needed information on recognizing abuse, reporting and how it can be addressed to assist the elder with issues they may have, but fail to recognize.
