THUNDER BAY – The number of cases of elder abuse in the city has increased over the years, according to Rebecca Johnson, co-chair of the city's elder abuse prevention committee. She hopes that a day to raise awareness of the issues might help people “stop and think about what is really happening.”
Sunday, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, marked by the city with a proclamation and a flag raising on Friday.
“We know that a lot of elder abuse happens amongst families, which is very sad. And there is a whole area of looking at how we can get at that? Whether you're a power of attorney — we deal with powers of attorney, we deal with wills — so that we know that people are actually taking money from individuals and that's abuse. There is physical abuse, sexual abuse, and the list goes on and on,” Johnson said.
She said elders in Thunder Bay are losing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to cyber abuse.
“People have come in and taken it from them, and whether it's a grandmother or grandfather scam, there are all kinds of those that are going on, and it's frightening and it's very concerning,” Johnson said.
Det. Const. Kevin Middleton attended the flag raising. He specializes in elder abuse crimes.
Speaking with Newswatch, he said that Thunder Bay's population is 26 per cent senior citizens, “one of the highest rates in Canada.”
Middleton said that a lot of elder abuse is often intertwined, but the majority of the elder abuse is financial.
“We talk to a lot of seniors now, older adults, who are just scared to answer the phone now or to respond to emails. We don't want them to be scared to answer the phone," Middleton said.
"Just because you answer the phone doesn't mean that you're being scammed, but all you have to do is be aware that this may be a scam."
“If someone is asking for some private information, then you know what, then just do a little background check, hang up, call the bank or call the police or call your family members, saying: 'does this sound right?' They're asking me for this bill, or this follow up or this tax arrears or CRA is calling. So just hang up and call that service or go on their official website and find out if it's true, most likely it isn’t. Just don't be scared to answer the phone, but just be aware it may be a scam.”
He said the best practice for preventing elder abuse is to stay in communication with a loved one or neighbour.
“It's little things like that they're losing weight, or there's a loved one that's moved into their home that won't allow them to do things that they usually do. Those types of things, like common sense, but in hindsight, you wish you would have said something,” Middleton said.
"At the very least, just because police get involved doesn't mean there's gonna be charges. There are no charges. We're just putting the seniors back in charge of their lives. If they want just us to talk to the abuser or try and get them the help, we're here for them and set up some services that may not be provided at the time.”
Middleton said a will and a power of attorney help police enforce the law if abuse is taking place. The power of attorney is mandated under legislation to protect the senior if the senior isn’t capable at that time.
“We can do a lot more if there's a power of attorney in place,” Middleton said.
