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'Break the Silence' is Key to Stopping Elder Abuse
By Andrea Hahn, Southernillinoisan.com
August 8, 2005
The Bank of Herrin sent out a fax to area media last week to get the word out that if someone called from the Bank of Herrin asking for account information - it wasn't really the Bank of Herrin.
Herrin Police Chief Mark Brown said he was told three elderly Bank of Herrin customers had called the bank to verify that it was really the bank after their personal account information.
It wasn't, said the bank. The bank doesn't make those inquiries over the telephone. Anyone receiving such a call from any bank is encouraged to call local law enforcement.
Brown said no victims of the scam have been reported yet.
He said it seems he is always on the lookout for some scam or other, many targeting senior citizens. Frequently such calls are made by strangers. In this case, he said, if a particular group is being targeted, the perpetrator may be much closer to home.
It wouldn't be the first time he has dealt with an elderly person financially exploited. If it's not a scam, it's a family member forging checks or taking an older person's money some other way.
David Mitchell, director of the elder abuse program at the Shawnee Alliance for Seniors, said the biggest problem with the abuse of the elderly - financial or otherwise - is getting someone to report it.
It's time to break the silence, he said.
A campaign that began in July with the Illinois Department of Aging to promote reporting of suspected elder abuse uses the slogan, "Break the Silence."
Mitchell said it's a theme worth talking about. Abuse to the elderly is a severely under-reported crime, he said.
According to state statistics, almost half of all abuse cases that do get reported involve a caregiver to the elderly victim. When the victim is dependent upon the abuser, reporting the abuse can make an elderly person feel a whole new sense of peril, Mitchell said.
Pope County State's Attorney Janet Proctor, who has had extensive experience working with the Shawnee Alliance and the Department of Aging, said some elderly people choose to live in a situation that is less than ideal rather than possibly lose contact with an abusive loved one.
What makes such cases especially frustrating for prosecutors and social service workers is that the elderly person is frequently legally competent and able to make that decision. Unless there is a firm criminal complaint, there is a limit to what can be done without the elderly person's consent.
"They may have the clear understanding that they aren't in the best situation," she said. "But one of the primary differences is that, with (abused) children, for example, we assume by age that they don't have the capacity to make their own decisions. With the elderly, we are coming from just the opposite direction. Just because a person turns 60 doesn't mean they are no longer capable of making their own decisions."
"Many times they are reluctant to admit it's going on," Mitchell said. "There is a lot of denial. Many times they are embarrassed that a family member would be abusive."
Mitchell said the most common type of abuse is financial exploitation. In some cases, he said, the abuser, particularly if he or she is a child or grandchild, feels a sense of entitlement and doesn't recognize that taking an older relative's money can be termed abuse.
Proctor said some abuse perpetrators don't realize when they have crossed the line from plain meanness to abuse.
"Many times it happens so gradually," she said. "It may begin in such subtle ways. It may begin as emotional abuse - 'If you don't help me with this, I won't be able to help you' - that kind of thing."
She likened it to domestic abuse cases involving much younger people. The loss of the relationship can sometimes seem more terrible than the ending the situation.
Proctor said the more isolated or frail elderly people are, the easier they can be to exploit. Elderly people with little social contact are also prime targets for phone scams, such as the one the Herrin police are warning against.
Proctor said part of the problem is that older people are not revered in much of American society. It is easy for older people to be shunned to the corners of family life.
There is another dynamic to the problem, though, she noted.
"At the same time, many elderly people may absent themselves from the community," she said. "They live in retirement communities or focus on activities just for senior citizens. We have to be careful not to compartmentalize a segment of society."
Mitchell said his office emphasizes that reports of elder abuse can be made anonymously, with the identity of the reporting party carefully protected. He said his office works, whenever possible, to fix the problem, not tear apart the family.
For example, he said, if an adult child is stealing money from an elderly parent because of drug addiction, the Shawnee Alliance can address the problem of addiction to fix the problem rather than separating the parent and adult child.
Proctor said many times better communication would lead to better resolution- particularly in cases where the elderly person is reluctant to admit to the problem.
"It can be really effective to sit down and say, 'You've been my friend a long time, and today I am really afraid to leave you. I know how angry your grandchild can get when you don't give him money when he asks,'" she said. "The big thing is that people should not be embarrassed to come forward if they have been the victim of financial exploitation or other abuse."
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