My Sisters’ Place, District Attorney’s Office & Care Program Commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on Wednesday, June 15th, 2016
Local event to raise awareness about elder abuse and neglect in Lincoln County
My Sisters’ Place, the Siletz CARE Program and the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office, along with other community partners on aging, are commemorating WEAAD by hosting a “One Person” event featuring an expert discussion panel on elder abuse at the Center for Health Education in Newport, from 5-7 p.m. on June 15, 2016.
Every day 10,000 people turn 65 in the U.S. alone, a trend that will continue for nearly the next 20 years. We will soon have more elder people in the U.S. than ever before. At the same time that the population is growing, we know that a startling number of elders face abusive conditions. Every year an estimated 5 million, or 1 in 10, older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture: according to the National Center on Elder Abuse, for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as 23 cases go unreported.
When we talk about elder abuse in Lincoln County, an individual may wonder, “What can one person possibly do to stop elder abuse?” In fact, according to Lisa Norton, Executive Director at My Sisters’ Place, there is a lot one person can do to end elder abuse in our community. “One person can take action to protect their loved ones,” Norton says. “They can make a report on suspicious activity they witness at their business. They can call to check up on friends or family. They can reach out to community resources to protect themselves. Every time one person acts to end elder abuse, we become closer, as a community, to ending elder abuse in Lincoln County altogether.”
The “One Person” event will feature a variety of experts on ending elder abuse in Lincoln County, including: Nancy Bugea Oswald, an Adult Protective Services investigator; Joseph Allison, Lincoln County Deputy District Attorney; Tracey Cummings, lead advocate at My Sisters’ Place; and a local banking specialist who will explain how best elders and their loved ones can prevent financial abuse and exploitation. The evening will include informational and resource tabling before the panel, and a Q&A session following the discussion. Dinner and refreshments will be provided, with door prizes from Chinook Winds Casino & Resort and Fred Meyer.
WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations and communities to raise awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders. The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations (UN) launched the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on June 15, 2006 in an effort to unite communities around the world in raising awareness about elder abuse. WEAAD is in support of the UN’s International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue.
Information provided by My Sisters’ Place
