May 13, 2008 

It's a crime that affects some of the most vulnerable – elder abuse. 

In the fight to help protect them, advocates have begun reaching out to others for help. You might be surprised who's joined the fight. 

"Sophia" is 89 years old and a victim of elder abuse. She was forced to flee the home she shared with her daughter and son-in-law after he hit her, as her daughter urged him on. 

"I would've got killed (if she didn't leave)," Sophia said. "And then she says to him, to her husband, 'Hit her harder, harder, harder...'" 

Sophia has found the peace she couldn't find with her own family at the Riverdale Home For The Aged, which provides shelter for the abused elderly. 

When asked how she felt once she started living at the home, Sophia didn't mince words. 

"I feel like a rich person without a dollar," she said. 

Estimates are that as many as 2 million older Americans are abused each year. About 80 percent of them by family members, but experts say the real number is much higher because victims often keep silent out of shame, and that it's easy for the abuse to go unnoticed by the rest of us. 

"Unlike kids who go to school every day, the older adults are so isolated that nobody even knows about them," said Joy Solomon of the Hebrew Home For The Ages. 

But now the Hebrew Home is recruiting frontline help in the fight against elder abuse in a most unlikely setting. 

In sessions at a West Side apartment building, they are training New York City's doormen to identify older people who may be in trouble and to report suspected abuse. 

"(The doormen) are the eyes, the ears, the smells of what's going on," Solomon said. "We thought about who knows about them and the doorman seemed a perfect fit." 

At the training sessions, the doormen, joined by maintenance workers and building staff, are taught to look for the hidden signs of abuse, as well as the more obvious physical signs. 

"Symmetrical bruises are usually a good sign that there is some abuse going on," one trainer to CBS 2 HD. "Also, if you see bruises on the forearms, it's very rare to have bruises on the forearms unless you are defending yourself." 

Those in attendance, like doorman Fidal Paljevic, said the training was helpful. 

"It's just getting an idea of what to look for, what to see, how to help, who to call," Paljevic said. 

Back at the Hebrew Home, Sophia was glad to hear that more eyes will be watching out for those who may be in trouble. 

"I think it could be very helpful to others that may be in the same situation," Sophia said. "There's a lot of people suffering ... people my age or younger." 

Hundreds of doormen throughout the city have already received the training. What's more, the doorman's union is launching an elder abuse awareness campaign for all its members.