The abuse of California’s senior citizens is on the rise, and
while the state Attorney General’s office says incidences are
highly underreported, local organizations are spreading the word
that elder abuse is prevalent but preventable.
Donna Elmhorst of San Benito County Protective Services
estimated an average of about 20 cases of elder abuse are reported
every month.
Hollister – The abuse of California’s senior citizens is on the rise, and while the state Attorney General’s office says incidences are highly underreported, local organizations are spreading the word that elder abuse is prevalent but preventable.
Donna Elmhorst of San Benito County Protective Services estimated an average of about 20 cases of elder abuse are reported every month.
However, she believes this is only a partial representation of how many cases actually exist.
“I absolutely believe there are many more cases out there than get reported,” Elmhorst said.
Statewide, the Attorney General’s office estimates one in every 20 seniors is the victim of abuse, and nearly a quarter of a million cases are reported every year.
“One of the hardest things about elder abuse is that statistics are so undependable,” said Peggy Osborn, director of the state Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Prevention Campaign. “People don’t see it as a very prevalent social issue. They see domestic violence, AIDS and child abuse as the things to really be concerned about. Elder abuse is one of the most unreported crimes in the state,” Osborn said.
Osborn believes the rate of elder abuse is steadily increasing because the senior population is getting bigger.
“I think it has always been a problem, but that age group is growing and people are living to be so much older than they used to be,” she said.
Elder abuse comes in four main forms, according to Osborn: Physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, and neglect. The abusers usually are people caring for elderly members of their family, Osborn said, and she believes that is another reason why authorities are seldom notified.
“For too long, elder abuse has been thought of as a ‘family matter.’ But that’s not the case. Whether it’s individuals who physically or psychologically abuse seniors or they financially scam them, it’s a crime. The penal code has a statute for elder abuse,” said Osborn.
Both the state and the county have 24-hour hotlines to report elder abuse, and if a case is reported to the state it is referred to the appropriate county.
Elder abuse cases are processed like child abuse investigations according to Marilyn Coppola, San Benito County Health and Human Services Director. The report is confidential, and Health and Human Services will assign a Protective Services social worker to investigate the case file. Depending on the situation, law enforcement officials would be called in (in the case of physical abuse or financial scams), or victims would receive case management services.
“What that means is that we would open up their case and, say, if it’s an elderly person that has no food or needs help with housing, we would try to get them to apply for benefits that they’re entitled to or try to get them food,” Coppola said.
The county also offers services to those who aren’t able to live by themselves in their homes, providing people to go to seniors’ houses to help with cooking and cleaning, according to Coppola.
Last year, the state attorney general’s office launched a three-year campaign to educate Californians about the prevention of elder abuse. The office also sponsored a special community forum in Seaside Wednesday night to educate senior citizens and their caregivers about elder abuse.
The forum drew about 120 senior citizens and caregivers and featured presentations on home improvement and financial scams, meals on wheels, and information from the abuse prevention campaign, such as how to recognize the signs of elder abuse.
“As individuals, as family members, as neighbors, we need to be more vigilant, we need to be more watchful of people we know. Say you live down the street from a senior and you see people coming in and out of her house, strange cars parked outside, or new roofing being put on. You should go look into it,” Osborn said. “It’s just like how we’ve learned to be more vigilant with children. We need to not hesitate to pick up the phone to report elder abuse. Our awareness of elder abuse is where our awareness of domestic violence and child abuse were 20 years ago. We’re behind,” she said.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
