Let’s imagine Robert, 82 years old: his drug-addicted son is his only emotional bond. The latter regularly extracts money from him and Robert has difficulty saying no because, when he refuses, the situation escalates to the point of blows. He can’t sleep and has suicidal thoughts.
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
The consequences of elder abuse are devastating: isolation, loss of sleep, anxiety, rapid decline in cognitive abilities, acting out, etc. These situations are serious, complex and require urgent interventions and a great deal of tact.
For more than 30 years, community organizations specializing in prevention, identification and first-line intervention have been on the ground offering local services that complement those of the health and social services network. Our professional workers will meet seniors in their living environment to support them and accompany them step by step in the steps they choose to take to put an end to mistreatment and regain power over their lives.
Establishing a bond of trust is crucial to restoring their courage and dignity. And nothing replaces a warm meeting in person to feel supported: “I see it in your eyes that you believe me. »
Our community organizations specializing in the fight against mistreatment are an essential link in the continuum of services. Our expertise is recognized by stakeholders in the health and social services network, multisectoral partners and police services; the government-funded Research Chair in Elder Abuse recognizes our role as essential. Over the course of a year, nearly 1,000 seniors receive our help, often at home, in addition to the thousands of others we reach through our prevention and awareness activities.
Unfortunately, some of our organizations have had to stop offering these services due to lack of funding. For others, the funding received does not even ensure the maintenance of the teams from year to year. However, the number of requests for help continues to increase.
Reading the new government action plan to counter elder abuse1 which has just been published, we are concerned.
We want to ensure that we are taken into account in this great fight against abuse in which we have been engaged for decades.
We fully recognize the importance and relevance of the Elder Abuse Help Line, with which we have been collaborating since its very beginnings and of which an improvement is announced (to the occasional telephone intervention will be added the possibility of following up to support people in a situation of abuse). We want to continue to work hand in hand, in complementarity with government authorities, and ensure that we have sufficient recurring funding so that seniors in situations of mistreatment can benefit from our local services.
In order to “Do more, do better” for seniors in situations of mistreatment, community organizations specializing in this fight must be adequately funded.
* Co-signatories: Lucie Caroline Bergeron, Executive Director of DIRA-Estrie; Francine Côté Demers, Executive Director of DIRA-Laval; Marie-Christine Floch, Executive Director of the Grand Gathering of Seniors of Vaudreuil and Soulanges; Michèle Osborne, Executive Director of the Vallée-de-la-Lièvre Seniors Generation Action Center (CAGA-SAVA Outaouais)