May is "Elder Abuse Prevention Month," a time to learn about elder abuse and what you can do to help. It is everyone's business to help prevent abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of those who are elderly or have disabilities.
Texas Adult Protective Services is involved in a grass-roots effort, throughout the month, that brings together community, civic and professional groups to focus attention and resources on preventing and stopping elder abuse. This includes conferences, presentations, and other events that increase understanding and cooperation in addressing the issue.
Two events will be held in the confines of he Diocese of Corpus Christi. In Alice,
The Downtown Walk-n-Roll to Health will be held on May 9, beginning at 8 a.m. Jim Wells County Judge Pedro "Pete" Trevino will read the Older American's Month Proclamation at the event. The walk will start at the park at San Diego Street by City Hall.
There will then be a walk to raise awareness of elder abuse. Everyone is encouraged to wear purple. Free goodie bags will be handed out to the first 100 people. After the walk (from 9 a.m.-noon) there will be a Farmer's Market on site selling local produce. For more information contact Marcos Gonzalez at (361) 664-0145, ext. 283.
A second event will be held in Corpus Christi on May 21. The 9th Annual Training Symposium for Service Providers of the Elderly & Disabled will kick off at 8:15 a.m. and run through 4:45 p.m. It is an all-day educational event with sic hours of CEU's available. Dr. Tam Cummings, Gerontologist and author, will provide the keynote.
Anyone who provides care and services to the elderly or disabled can pre-register for $20 or $15 per person for groups of five or more. The cost is $30 at the door. A light breakfast and lunch is included. The event will be held at the Corpus Christi First United Methodist Church, 900 S. Shoreline. For more information contact Jennifer Catalani at (361) 808-6322.
"Preventing elder abuse becomes more important every year as our state ages," said Beth Engelking, DFPS assistant commissioner for APS. "There are more than three million people in Texas who are 65 or older. Everyone needs to know how to recognize and respond to the signs of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation."
State law requires anyone who suspects abuse, neglect or exploitation to report it. You can do that by calling the Texas Abuse Hotline at (800) 252-5400 or report online at www.TxAbuseHotline.org.
Last year, APS completed 81,681 investigations involving people living at home and confirmed 54,731 of them were victims of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. Sixty percent of those victims were elderly and the rest were younger adults with disabilities. After a downtick in 2013, the number of validated cases was on the rise again 2014, and that upward trend is expected to continue as our population ages.
Less than a year ago, APS put new tools in place that help its caseworkers determine how to address their client's situations in the best way possible.
"It's a series of assessments that provide structure and help caseworkers determine if clients are safe, what services they need, and how to keep them from suffering abuse or neglect in the future," Engelking said.