At least 10 percent of adults over 65 will experience some form of elder abuse this year, and that’s far too much in our eyes. Luckily, there are some steps we can all take to help prevent this issue, which we’ll go over below.
- Educate yourself. The first step in preventing elder abuse is educating yourself. You need to know what the common signs of it are and get rid of any stereotypes you may have.
- Educate others. Once you know more about the issue, you can do your part to educate others. While it might seem a little awkward at first, you can talk to bank staff, doctors and nurses, religious leaders, friends and family members, and others about the issue of elder abuse. You can encourage them to learn more about the issue and put more safeguards in place to help combat it. Abusers thrive when there is a lack of communication.
- Prevent isolation. Social isolation is very common in seniors, and people with bad intentions take advantage of that. Stop and/or call seniors you know and encourage others to do the same. Talk to them and ask them what’s going on in their life.
- Give caregivers breaks. Caregivers can often grow frustrated and exhausted, and this can, in some cases, lead to mistreatment of the person they are taking care of. If you know of someone taking care of a friend or family member, offer to give them a break, even if it’s just for a few hours. They’ll appreciate the time to themselves, and it allows them to rest and decompress a little, making sure they’re in better shape to continue taking care of their loved one.
- Volunteer. Another great way to prevent elder abuse is to volunteer with a nursing home or an organization with SCOA, as this allows you to have a relationship with even more seniors. The more people like you checking in on them and talking to them, the better.
- Support. Contacting a local Adult Protective Services or Long-Term Care Ombudsman and asking them how you can support what they’re doing is a great way to prevent elder abuse as well. In addition, you can also support initiatives in your community that help and support seniors, and you can support organizations like SCOA financially.