Powell River seniors received a primer on what constitutes elder abuse, and what can be done to deal with it, at a recent monthly Seniors Together gathering at Powell River Recreation Complex.
The information session held in the Evergreen Theatre prior to the monthly luncheon attracted about 80 people, who heard facilitator April Struthers outline elder abuse through a presentation called It’s Not Right.
The presentation included a video vignette of one family who needs some support, and then how people can respond as a friend or family member, not as a professional, when it appears something is going on.
“It’s the smallest little intervention that you can safely do, and it just keeps the door open for people to go and seek other resources,” said Struthers.
She said it was her objective to make sure people are equipped, so if they have worries that something is going on, they will know what to do, and what local resources are available to turn to if required.
“For adult abuse and elder abuse in Canada, there’s not one phone number you call to report it,” said Struthers. “It’s different in every jurisdiction, figuring out what to do and where to go next. It’s a bit of a puzzle.
“That’s partly what this will fill in for people. They’ll be more certain about what to look for and then what they can actually do, and where to go next. It helps identify some of the indicators they should be looking for and then what the resources are.”
Struthers said in terms of elder abuse, experts indicate that just the tip of the iceberg is being seen.
“We know that probably 70 per cent of the abuse is not reported,” said Struthers. “There’s just been a cross-Canada report that came out about the extent of elder abuse. It’s safe to say we all know somebody who has been affected by elder abuse.”
Struthers said there are five or six different kinds of abuse and each one has a different response. Figuring out what to do and who should be doing it, and the level of intervention, is different for each type of abuse. Each scenario has to be looked at individually.
“Really, noticing something is going on, and if we need to, getting a specialist in the field to have a look is the way we focus on the issue,” she said.
Ron Woznow is chair of Powell River Assist, a community response network (CRN) that deals with issues such as elder abuse in this community. Powell River Senior Citizens Association is the host institution for Powell River Assist and Woznow represents them as vice president of the seniors association.
Woznow said Powell River’s CRN, when it meets, has a cross section of physicians, dentists, people associated with the recreation centre and others knowledgeable in the field.
“They all come together and say how can we best let the public know that we have all of these resources, so, regardless of which of the five or six forms of adult abuse is occurring, they have a good contact person,” said Woznow. “The way we put this in perspective with people is even if Powell River has the least adult abuse in Canada, there are still 500 to 600 cases a year occurring here. That puts it in perspective for everybody. Yes, this is a priority.”
Woznow said the first Powell River Assist shut down 10 years ago. Struthers worked with a new Powell River contingent in the spring of 2019 to bring it back.
Struthers said what the local CRN does is provide a kind of a table for all responders to come around and talk to each other about what is going on. It is not a referral agency.
“Your network can probably figure out in a year or so what the trends are locally and people will be reporting on what they notice as professionals,” said Struthers.
She said the CRN puts a focus on the whole issue that wouldn’t exist otherwise.
“Everybody knows there is something going on under the surface,” said Struthers. "We’re the guys who scratch the surface, take a closer look and then say what is it that you want to do as a community about this, and how can we better get things knit together so people get what they need.”
Woznow said adult and elder abuse can take many forms, such as isolation abuse, physical abuse or financial abuse.
He said he’d received a call from an elderly woman whose heat had been shut off. The person she thought was paying the bill wasn’t paying it.
Woznow said there is another case where a senior lost her hearing capacity and it had been a number of years since the battery in her hearing aid had been replaced.
“Simple things like this can change people’s lives,” said Woznow.
He said Powell River Assist wants to get out a simple website and a one-pager to help people who find themselves victims of elder abuse or are family or friends of somebody facing elder abuse. In the interim, Woznow said people can never go wrong talking to the family doctor.
“Even if it’s financial abuse, they should be able to say, ‘talk to the bank,’” said Woznow. “First on our list to do, however, is to get up a really simple resource for people who will either encounter it or suffer it. We just got a $750 grant from the provincial CRN so we’ve got the seed money.”
