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Check out our New Blog...
Understanding Abuse of Older Adults
at
http://abuseofolderadults.blogspot.com/
What
does Abuse of Older Adults Look Like?
Connecting to the Links
below you will be able to view "real life situations" that are vivid
depictions of Elder Abuse. It happens in the nicest homes and
sometimes in places you least expect it.
Have you noticed
something like this happening to people you know? If so - are
you ready to do something to get someone help?
Click on these links (words or pictures) to watch a video.
Physical Abuse - where you least
expect it...

Verbal Abuse - when you least
expect it...

Financial Abuse - how you least
expect it...

After viewing the videos, how
did you feel? If you were close to one of the situations depicted
above, what do you think you should do? Where would you go for
help? Who would be the best person to provide assistance to the
senior that is being abused?
Call
705-742-7778
These videos are
produced by The
Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (ONPEA). They
have been posted to YouTube.
QUESTION????
Have you noticed someone being abused? Have
you witnessed changes in someone's physical condition that may be
abuse?
What will you do about it?
Where will you go for help? You can call
Call
705-742-7778 |
Flex Your Health For The Future
Workshop
Thursday - June 12, 2008
Location: Royal
Canadian Legion, 1550 Lansdowne St. W.
Time: 9:00 am ~
3:30 pm
Cost: $5.00
Topics:
Advance Care Planning
- with Sara Cook & Sandi May
Elder abuse Discussion
- with Helen Perkins
Health Exercises
with VON 'Smart Program'
Healthy Foods by
the Health Unit
Healthy Brain Exercises
with Sara & Sandi
To Register please contact Wendy Anderson at VON Care -
705-745-9155 - Ext. 6443 by June 1st.
Get
Involved … Help prevent the Abuse of Older Adults
“We
need your help.” stated Wendy Anderson, the Project Manager for
Volunteer Development. “If you would like to help seniors that need
support at critical times in their lives, we are able to help you get
involved.”
An estimated 3600 older
adults in Peterborough County & City could be experiencing some form
of abuse; physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, financial,
neglect or denial of civil rights - it’s a big issue and it is a hard
issue … and you can help prevent it!
Our Mission: ‘to prevent and
eliminate all abuse of older adults through the provision of education
and a coordinated community response’
(Full Story)
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Get Involved … Help
prevent the Abuse of Older Adults
“We
need your help.” stated Gloria Edwards, the Project Manager for
Volunteer Development. “If you would like to help seniors that need
support at critical times in their lives, we are able to help you get
involved.”
An estimated 3600 older
adults in Peterborough County & City could be experiencing some form
of abuse; physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, financial,
neglect or denial of civil rights - it’s a big issue and it is a hard
issue … and you can help prevent it!
With persistence and
determination of volunteers and agency representatives the Abuse
Prevention of Older Adults Network (APOAN) has made progress in
several areas while striving to reach its mission,
‘to prevent and
eliminate all abuse of older adults through the provision of education
and a coordinated community response’
In
2005 the APOAN made a big leap forward. With funding from the Ontario
Trillium Foundation and the National Crime Prevention Mobilization
Project, the APOAN was able to hire a Project Manager to conduct
awareness activities and to facilitate the development of a
Coordinated Community Response for Peterborough County and City.
Forty-five community agencies participated in developing this
protocol.
(Full Story)
* * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
August 2006 report from The Gambia - in west
Africa. TAPEA is launching a new effort among the Youth of their
nation.
Greetings from The Association For The Prevention Of Elder Abuse, The
Gambia (TAPEA).
TAPEA ia conducting
a symposium in schools entitled "YOUTHS FOR ELDERS", which is part of
our Aims in educating the our school going children on prevention of
Elder Abuse,
TAPEA visit to the office
of the Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia
The
Association for the prevention of Elder Abuse (TAPEA) paid a
courtesy call to the office of the vice president and secretary of
state for women affairs Dr. Isatou Njie –Saidy. Among the delegates
from (TAPEA) that visited her Excellency includes Priscilla Jones
(President TAPEA), Mr. Gilbert Cole (vice president TAPEA) Mr. James
.C. Nwodo (secretary –General) Mrs. Ayo –Reley (Matron) Rev. Charles
F.Mendi (Patron) and madam Fatou. (In the photograph, Priscilla
Jones is meeting
the
vice president of The Republic of The Gambia, Her Excellency Dr Isatou
Njie-Saidy.)
(Full
Story)
Priscilla
Jones presenting to the Vice President Her Excellency Dr Isatou
Njie-Saidy our proposal for 2006/07.
Beside
Priscilla Jones is Mr Gilbert Cole the vice president of (TAPEA).
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Volunteering with APOAN
5 Powerful Ways to Help
1. Speaker Bureau
2. Information and Referral
3. Media Monitoring
4. Public Awareness
5. Volunteer Development
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Interested in
Volunteering?
If something on this Web Page strikes a
note with you and you would like to get involved - please call us.
You can download a
Volunteer
Application form here. Complete it and send it
via "Snail Mail" or an Email to
Wendy
Anderson
To do this ...
1. Open the
Application Form on your computer...
2. Complete the Form
using your word processor program... then save it in your name...
3. Send an Email to
Wendy
Anderson with the completed Form as an attachment..
We look forward to hearing from you.
Wendy
Project Manager
Volunteer Development
Abuse Prevention of Older Adults
Network
Victorian Order of Nurses
Peterborough Square
360 George Street
Suite 25
Peterborough, ON
K9H 7E7
Phone: 705-745-9155 ext. 1484
Fax: 705-745-3262
E-mail:
Wendy.Anderson@von.ca
Call us,
there
is a place for
you to help out!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Abuse and
Neglect . . .
Is any action or inaction, by a person in a
position of trust, that results in (potential) harm to an older
adult.
It includes:
- Physical
- Sexual
- Psychological/emotional (including
spiritual)
- Financial
- Neglect
- Denial of civil rights
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Let’s look at what we know.
So what is older adult abuse? When you
consider the definition of Older Adult Abuse, notice that the
definition includes ‘by a person in a position of trust’. Though we
care about scams, we don’t include them in our definition. Here are
some examples of Abuse that are common. Sometimes different types of
abuse occur together.
Physical:
In addition to the obvious – hitting slapping, pushing - physical
abuse may include over-medication, or inappropriate restraint that
involves tying up the older person or locking them in a room. Some
type of physical restraint may be necessary in cases of dementia where
wandering is a concern, but even appropriate restraint can be
misused. When in doubt, ask a professional who works with dementia
victims. Physical force may have a more serious impact on an older
person than on someone younger;
Sexual:
Some in the field believe many cases of sexual abuse go undetected
because society and professionals fail to recognize sexual abuse in
older persons – perhaps due to misperception that the elderly are not
likely targets for sexual abuse.
Psychological or emotional
abuse: includes frightening,
humiliating, intimidating, isolating, or infantilizing behaviours.
Often takes the form of threatening the older person with nursing home
placement, and isolating the older person. The same behaviours may be
more damaging to one person than another – psychological abuse affects a
person’s health and self worth, and can result in illness, depression,
or suicide. Psychological abuse reduces likelihood of seeking help.
Spiritual abuse is the distortion of a religious message that is meant
to strengthen and empower people. It includes anything that diminishes
the true value of the person or distorts the image of a loving God.
It can also occur when the faith community forces its members to give
money or change their wills in its favour using manipulation or
threats.
Financial abuse:
may range from keeping the change when shopping for grandma to
complicated types of extortion. Financial abuse is particularly
devastating for older persons because of the limited opportunity to
recuperate the funds. A recent study in BC found that 1 in 12 older
adults had been financially abused, losing on average, $20,000 each.
Neglect:
may be intentional (e.g when providing
care only for $ reasons or begrudgingly), or unintentional (e.g.
incapable due to lack of skill, or own
problems)
Different types of abuse
occur together.
How
Can We help Edith?
Earlier this year, the faith
leader in a local community learned that an elderly parishioner
(Edith) is going to live with her daughter in another town about 50
kms away. Edith explained that her daughter’s marriage recently
broke up and she asked Edith for help by coming to stay with them to
be with the two teenage children as her daughter Sue’s work involved a
lot of shift.
Edith enjoyed being in her own
home and community and was unsure about moving in with her daughter
because she could be quite difficult at times. But Edith felt sorry
for her daughter and grandchildren, so agreed to the plan.
For more
Scenarios of very real situations click here
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So How Big a Problem
is Older Adult Abuse? |
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This issue isn’t new, but our understanding of
it is. Only in the late ‘80’s did we begin to realize the scope of
the problem, and to understand that abuse of older adults is an
issue that has differences from other forms of family violence.
The first Canadian study done in ‘89,
identified that 4% of older adults reported at least one incident of
abuse. A subsequent study, reported in the 1993 document:
Canadian Panel on Violence against Women: Changing the Landscape –
Ending the Violence, identified the rate of abuse amongst older
persons to be 10%.
According to the 2001 Stats Can survey, 29% of
the population in Peterborough County and City is over age 55, compared to 22% in Ontario (65 yr + =
18% compared to 13% in Ont).( Peterborough County and City has 3rd highest % of seniors
in Ontario, after Haliburton and City of Kawartha Lakes).
Those rates would put the number of older
adults experiencing abuse in Peterborough County and City at between
1400 and 3600 individuals. That would be equivalent to
the population of Millbrook or Lakefield, depending on the figure
used.
While there are actually more cases of abuse to
women, men are abused about as often proportionately. Depending on
the type of abuse, the outcome for women can be more serious. |
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"Do you
know someone that is being abused? What will you do about it?
If you will step forward now - it will stop.
If you need help or for more information
call 742-7778
Why Older Persons Don’t Tell
Research has
shown us that....
Shame (remember the abuser is most
often a family member)
Fear of retaliation by the abuser
Some
individuals don’t know their rights
and fear being put into a ‘home’ if they speak up. Some
don’t know that what is happening is
abuse, and wrong, and that there is anything that can be done.
Others are
concerned for the abuser - for example
if the abuse is financial or physical and the police become involved.
Another situation is when the caregiver is the abused older adult and the
care receiver is the abuser. For example Isabel has been looking
after John as his care giver for the past 4 years. They have been
married for 47 years. John's physical condition requires medication to be
given at specific times during the day. John has been hurting Isabel more
frequently now. He punches her and slaps her face. Through out
their long marriage he has exhibited periods of violence but never as much
as now. Isabel needs to leave him but asks herself, “What will happen to him if I leave?”
Older people
are aware of society’s negative attitudes, and may believe that abuse is
what they deserve or that no one will
care. Like Isabel - who has lived with this for so long - "Who
cares? Who knows? I guess I deserve it."
And
isolation plays a big part in making
it difficult to disclose the abuse |
Who Abuses Older Adults?
- Close to older adult – usually family
- Financially dependent on older adult
- Mental/emotional problems
- Drug and alcohol difficulties
- Family conflict
- Need for control
- A blamer
- Poor past relationship
Interested in
Volunteering?
If something on this Web Page strikes a
note with you and you would like to get involved - please call us.
You can download a
Volunteer
Application form here. Complete it and send it
via "Snail Mail" or an Email to
Wendy
Anderson
To do this ...
1. Open the
Application Form on your computer...
2. Complete the Form
using your word processor program... then save it in your name...
3. Send an Email to
Wendy
Anderson with the completed Form as an attachment..
Wendy
Project Manager
Volunteer Development
Abuse Prevention of Older Adults
Network
Victorian Order of Nurses
Peterborough Square
360 George Street
Suite 25
Peterborough, ON
K9H 7E7
Phone: 705-745-9155 ext. 1484
Fax: 705-745-3262
E-mail:
Wendy.Anderson@von.ca |
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Peterborough Community
Resources
Peterborough Health Unit (743-1000)
Peterborough Access Centre (743-2212)
Abuse
Prevention Network (742-7778)
Community
Counselling and Resource Centre (742-4258)
Peterborough Lakefield Police (876-1122)
OPP
(742-0401)
Howell
Fleming Law Firm, Garry Rishor (745-1361)
Gary E.
Ainsworth, Barr, Sol & Notary (749-0629)
Steven D.
Partridge, Barr, Sol & Notary (748-2241)
The Peterborough County and City
Community Resource List for Abused Older Adults
click here
MS Doc of Community Resource List
History of Abuse Prevention Of Older Adults Network - APOAN
Isolation as the Unifying Indicator In Older Adult Abuse
Call
705-742-7778 if you need help, need to talk to someone
or are being abused - Someone is willing to listen |
What Can Faith Communities Do?
Be
knowledgeable about . . .
* what it is
* how to
respond
* community
resources
* Raise
awareness through special activities and the pulpit
* Strengthen
congregational ministry for older persons |