Keeping our community safe with elder abuse awareness
Everyone wants to live in a safe community and part of that is watching out for each other. One way that we can do that is by taking part in World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by learning the signs of elder abuse and how to recognize them in others in our community.
Elder abuse is violence, mistreatment or neglect towards older adults. The abuse often comes from individuals in situations of power or trust but it can also come from other individuals and is not limited, potentially occurring inside or outside the home.
Local RCMP Community Safety Officer Paul Human says that he has mostly seen financial and physical elder abuse in his career but that neglect and emotional abuse are also ways that older adults are exploited.
“[With physical abuse] they have unexplained bruises. So, you might be speaking with an individual and you see a bruise, say on their neck, maybe on their face or on unexposed skin, maybe a burn, maybe a scar, things like that,” he said.
In situations like that, he says that the best way to help people is to ask them about what happened.
In situations of financial abuse, there are different signs that Human recommends that residents keep an eye out for.
“What I’ve seen before is where it gets reported to us that all of a sudden this individual who had money doesn’t have any. [They’ll have] a recent change in banking, or a recent change in spending patterns,” he said.
He says that noticing changes and being there for your family member, friend, or neighbour may mean asking some questions.
“You don’t have to, obviously, pry into people’s financial history or anything like that, like how much is in your [savings but] just if you see something that’s really drastic,” he said.
He explained that in some instances, like if they are selling a home or vehicle unexpectedly or they talk about having to take out a loan, leave room for a conversation about how they are doing.
Some other signs that something might be going on with someone are:
Unexplained or poorly explained injuries
Looking to be dehydrated or malnourished
Clothes or hygiene needs that are not to previous standards
If someone appears to be over or under-medicated
These signs could indicate a variety of situations affecting a person’s life beyond elder abuse, so keep an open mind when checking in.
For elders in our community that want to protect themselves, they should know that these situations often start small and come from a level of trust that is previously established.
“As soon as that trust wall is established, they’re like, ‘Hey, you know what, can I borrow 20 bucks from you just to put some gas in my truck, so I can get home?’ [and you say,] ‘Oh, sure,’ and then $20 becomes $50, and then $50 becomes $5000, etc.,” said Human.
He explained that often as Canadians we want to help others in need and our hearts go out to people.
One way that you can help people in our community that you notice changes in is by generating an information report with the RCMP even if you aren’t sure what exactly is going on. Human explained that your report may not yet be enough to get the RCMP to act but the more information that they have the better if they have to address the situation in the future.
His other advice is to connect with others in our community.
“Talk with your neighbour. If something looks suspicious, it probably is. [For instance if,] I noticed that the John across the street there, he’s not getting visited by his family anymore, or there is that one certain vehicle that comes by all the time, if it looks weird, then it probably is weird,” said Human.
He also encourages residents who want to make the community safer not just to make observations but to act on them.
“We do it all the time as police officers, or for instance firefighters. If there’s fire, they’re going to act on it. If there’s a crime, if somebody’s getting hurt, we’ve got to act on it. It’s the same thing if you see something that’s suspicious, act on it, because if you hold on to it, that’ll generate anxiety for you, number one and number two, you’re helping somebody else,” he said.
