Program Will Honor World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

By Nancy K. Crevier

The Elder Response Team of the Lower Naugatuck Valley will present “The Reality of Later Life Abuse,” a program made possible through The Hewitt Foundation and the Orange Senior Center, on Monday, June 15, at Orange Senior Center, 525 Orange Center Road in Orange. June 15 is the fourth annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The conference will begin with registration and continental breakfast at 8:30 am, featuring keynote speaker Dr Gerard J. Kerins. Dr Kerins is section chief of geriatric medicine at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven. He is also the medical director for the Sister Ann Virginie Grimes Health Center nursing facility, and holds faculty positions at the UConn School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr Kerins is also a member of the State of Connecticut Commission on Aging, the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities Fatality Review Board, and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Connecticut Alzheimer’s Association.

According to the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), elder abuse can entail any kind of abuse against someone age 60 and older. That abuse can take the form of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; financial exploitation; or neglect, self-neglect, and abandonment. Abuse in later life affects victims age 50 and older.

Older women are more likely to be abused than men, but over half of abusers are female. Nearly 90 percent of reported abuse occurs in the victim’s home and in 33 percent of the incidences, are perpetrated by adult children. Eleven percent of later life abuse is at the hands of a spouse.

When someone involved in an ongoing, trusting relationship creates an atmosphere of fear through physical, emotional, or verbal threats or injury, an abusive situation exists. The pattern of coercive behavior is used by the abuser to gain power and control over another person to achieve what they want from a relationship.

Ann Piccini, the director of social services in Newtown, does not often have incidences of physical abuse toward the elderly reported to her, but what she does see is self-neglect and the abuse of financial power by relatives in charge of an elderly person’s monetary affairs.

“Self-neglect is the hardest to help with,” said Ms Piccini. “We see a lot of cases where the elderly do not take care of themselves, and their homes are filthy but they don’t want the disruption of having someone assist them. They are afraid of having people they don’t know in their homes,” she said. Persistent offers of help from friends and family can eventually pay off, but in many cases the neglect continues when the elderly refuse to cooperate.

Financial abuse is not uncommon in local situations, said Ms Piccini.

“Especially in households with an unemployed, adult child, there may be financial abuse,” she said. “The elderly do not like to press charges when someone they love abuses a power of attorney or uses a charge card without permission, but I have seen cases where an elderly person’s money is gone through quickly by a family member with power of attorney, leaving them with nothing. It is devastating to them when they find out a family member cannot be trusted,” Ms Piccini said.

Rather than giving a friend or family member power of attorney, it may be preferable for the elderly to have a conservator assigned by probate court. “Every year, then, that conservator has to show probate the income and how the money was spent. It is a better choice than giving power of attorney,” she said.

John DeMattia, bureau chief for the state attorney’s office Elder Abuse Unit, said that in his experience, elder financial abuse vs physical abuse is about a 90-10 situation, and of that 90 percent, 75 to 85 percent of those cases are family stealing from family. “Realistically,” said Mr DeMattia, “it is probably more like 70-30, but many cases of physical incidences of elder abuse do not get reported.”

Incidences of abuse by home care aides has been on the increase as well, he said, as more elderly try to remain longer in their homes. In a nursing home or medical setting, senior citizens are not apt to report physical abuse, either, said Mr DeMattia.

“They are scared or embarrassed. I have had elderly tell me, ‘You guys go home after I report this; I stay here at night.’ It’s the case of the devil you know…” Mr DeMattia said.

Separate town statistics on elder and later life abuse are not kept, according to state attorney for the Danbury jurisdiction, Steve Sedensky. What is clear to him, though, is that there is a huge amount of criminal activity statewide against the elderly.

“The sad thing is,” said Mr Sedensky, “the majority of time it is by someone the elderly person knows.”

The 2007 Connecticut State Police Family Violence Report does not indicate how many of the 20,042 family violence incidents reported that year involved later life or elder abuse. Of those more than 20,000 incidents, however, 4,838 were perpetrated by a relative living at home, 1,170 by a relative living outside of the home, and 5,740 at the hands of a live-in or companion. Less than half of those reports resulted in arrest.

If there is any suspicion of abuse in later life or of the elderly, said Ms Piccini, as with child abuse, every person is mandated to report it. It is better, she believes, to err on the side of caution by informing authorities such as the police, protective services, or social services than to ignore situations that may be physically, emotionally, or financially abusive. “It will be investigated in a courteous manner, so no one should hesitate if they suspect abuse,” she said.

Victims frequently feel unable to leave an abusive situation. Some continue to care deeply for the person doing harm; others may feel it necessary to keep a family intact for religious reasons. Victims of elder or later life abuse may believe that they or others that they love will be hurt or killed if they leave the abuser, or may not have the financial freedom to leave. Medical conditions or disabilities can prevent a person from withdrawing from an abusive situation.

Perpetrators may use excuses of drug or alcohol abuse, stress, mental illness, or caregiver stress to explain elder abuse, but NCALL information indicates that researchers have found that abuse is a choice made by an individual who chooses manipulative behavior to control a victim.

The June 15 conference at Orange Senior Center will offer three breakout sessions beginning at 9 am to 12:30 pm. “The Basics of Elderly Protective Services” will focus on reporting elderly abuse and the consequences of doing so. Shelley O’Brien, regional ombudsman, and Lorraine Massud, treatment worker for Protective Services, will lead the session.

The second session will be guided by Attorney Julia M. Brown. “Older Victims and the Law” will look at legal documents that may help prevent or that may increase the likelihood of abuse, and what to do when things go wrong.

“Substance and Abuse in Older Adults” will cover substance abuse among seniors, family members, and caregivers. Lorrie Driscoll, program coordinator of the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council, will lead this session.

Registration is required for the conference. No walk-ins will be accepted. To register, mail a check for $15, made out to Birmingham Foundation, to M. Rivera, c/o Umbrella, 435 East Main Street, Ansonia CT 06401, or register online at bghealth.org.