S.A.F.E Elders Initiative
Elder abuse is a crime against elderly people. It comes in many forms and it is not always easily proven. For that reason, S.A.F.E (Stop Abuse & Financial Exploitation) is something that encourages both elderly and their families to know and understand what elderly abuse is and how to recognize when it may be happening to you.
What is Elderly Abuse?
Elder abuse is the physical, mental, or financial abuse of an elderly person. It may also include neglect as it pertains to the care of an older person. It may be a single act of abuse or a repeated one where the elderly person has an established expectation of trust. The most common abusers are caregivers, nursing homes, and family members who the elderly person trusts to help them instead of hurting them.
What is Financial Abuse?
Financial abuse of an elderly person may take many forms. It may be a fraudulent claim that the person will take care of the older person in return for property or money and then failing to follow through. For instance, telling the elderly person that if they sign over their personal property in return for a lifelong care arrangement or the ability to spend their life living there, and then evicting them or withholding care. It may be the caregiver promising to purchase medications or something that the older person wants and then failing to do so or using the money given to not only purchase medication, but items that they will use themselves. Even something as simple as a promise to provide food for the older person and then purchasing shoes for them instead, could be a form of elder financial abuse because the elderly person handed over money with the expectation of getting one thing and received another. It may be financial abuse by someone who promises to use the elder’s money wisely and encourages the person to take out a loan or give freely of their money to receive something that they never get. Scammers are likely to attack older people with this type of promise.
Elder Neglect
Vulnerable adults are especially likely to suffer elder neglect. Neglect may be passive or active. It may be poor care given by the caregiver (starvation, medications not being given, or other things) and it may also be allowing the elder to self-neglect, which means that they may not bathe properly or starve themselves, but it may also mean that they are refusing care that they desperately need. Passive neglect is when the caregiver wants to do right, but must leave the elderly person alone or they are not properly trained to care for that person’s needs. Active neglect is when the person knowingly neglects the elder by withholding care.
Other Elder Abuse Types
There are all types of abuse toward elderly because they are in need of help from others. Most often, they have a mental illness and depend on other people for their needs. This opens the door for not only financial exploitation and neglect, but physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, and much more. Regardless of what the abuse is, our elderly loved ones deserve to be taken care of instead of abused. The goal of S.A.F.E Elders Initiative is to raise awareness, make it easier to spot signs of abuse, and easier for our older loved ones and their family to fight back after instances of abuse.