R-J EDITORIAL: Hotline helps older population

Elder abuse comes in many forms and far too often those in this demographic do not have the connections or resources needed to fight back. A hotline project is working to address that injustice by giving older people a way to protect themselves and get support.

Record Journal reporter Cris Villalonga-Vivoni recently wrote about elder abuse, a nationwide problem and one that continues to be underreported, according to Audrey Grove, director of CareConnect Navigator at Masonicare, a Wallingford-based not-for-profit provider of senior living and healthcare.

Nationwide, an estimated 10% of adults 60 and older will experience one or more forms of elder abuse during any given year, according to the federal Department of Justice.

Elder abuse runs the gamut of painful experiences and can include caregiver neglect and financial exploitation as well as psychological, sexual or physical abuse, writes Villalonga-Vivoni, citing Department of Justice findings. The resulting trauma can result in “increased chance of mortality to financial loss to disruptions in relationships.”

A common and disturbing exploitation involves frauds and scams. Grove told Villalonga-Vivoni that seniors can be easy prey as they may be isolated and looking for connections to others. Their knowledge of internet safety may not be the best, either, Grove explained. For instance, romance scams often foster a friendship with a senior ultimately resulting in the scammer asking for money. Most seniors only realize they’re being exploited after it’s too late, she said.

Scams often prey on fear, Grove said, describing how a scammer can frighten an older person with a phone call saying a family member was arrested and needs money to get out of jail.

In 2021, the state’s Office of Attorney General William Tong created the Elder Justice Hotline. The service provides seniors a place to report abuse and get help with issues that may require financial, criminal or social services to address their situations.

“We provide this resource so that people aren’t alone.

They have someplace to turn and can get someone in the Attorney General’s office to focus on their issues personally,” Tong said.

The Elder Justice Hotline has assisted hundreds of Connecticut seniors experiencing elder abuse, typically fielding 70 calls a week, through its 1-860-808-5555 number. Those statistics show this service is needed and being used.

The idea was to create a “ one stop shop” for seniors, making it easier to find and use the many available resources. Hotline operators can immediately connect callers with the right department or authorities for a wide range of needs: hous- ing, food insecurity, health insurance and legal assistance. There’s a follow up call, too, to ensure that the issue is resolved.

Having a phone line with a live staff member was an important piece of creating the service, as older people may not like or have easy access to the internet. They also need to connect with a human voice and not an automated message.

“This hotline will help law enforcement, as well as family and friends, protect our most targeted and vulnerable population. Our older populations sometimes have difficulty and fear when they are trying to report that they are a victim. This will be a tremendous help,” said James Rovella, the commissioner for the state department of emergency services and public protection, in a press release announcing the hotline.

Giving older people a hotline at times it’s a lifeline provides them access to a wide range of support services. It means they do not have to be alone as they sort out what can be a confusing and, at times, dangerous world. The components of this hotline assistance reflect a compassionate and resultoriented approach. The hotline can help our elderly population stay healthy and safe and let them know they are valued. “Elder justice” says it all.

Cheshire junior middle hitter Will Allen was the tournament MVP with 15 kills, two aces and two digs.

“This feels really good,” Allen said. “I love all of my team. We were super-efficient and didn’t let the ball hit the floor.

“We were just super-focused tonight. This was huge after last year losing to them in the finals. This is for all the seniors from last year’s team. That loss drove us this whole season.”

Matt Lilback also came through with 13 kills, three digs and two blocks.

“With Matti Lilback and Will in the middle you can’t get a break on them,” Cheshire coach Sue Bavone said. “Our middles take care of business. Connor (Hayes) has has come along nicely on the right side after being on the outside last year.”

Shelton was the reigning SCC Tournament champ after defeating Cheshire, 3-2, in last years final.

“That championship we lost last year was tough to swallow not because we lost, but I didn’t like the way we fought in that game,” Bavone said. “We folded and didn’t come out with confidence. When we went up 2-0, we didn’t push through.”

Cheshire has been in every SCC final since 2016. The exception was 2020, when spring sports were not played due to the pandemic.

“That speaks the commitment we have from our coaches,” Bavone said. “Our same coaches are here all of the time. There isn’t a lot of turnover in our program with our staff. Our standards and traditions are held from year to year to year. The kids just buy into it and we keep it going.”

Cheshire defeated Shelton in both meetings during the regular season, 3-2 on April 21 and 3-1 on May 10. Last Friday, Cheshire was never threatened in a onesided opening game. Allen led all attackers with five kills, including the slam to end the game at 25-13.

After the Gaels led 4-3, Cheshire exploded for an 186 run. Jason Cafourek and Jacob Daddona had long service runs for the Rams as they built up the lead. Connor Hayes had a pair of blocks in a runaway opening set for the hosts.

Game 2 was anything but a laugher for either side.

Cheshire jumped out to a 11-6 lead and Shelton responded with a big performance by senior outside hitter Thomas Kopec, who slammed down four clutch kills as the Gaels evened the match at 1-1. Kopec led the Gaels with a team-high 13 kills in the match.

Late in the set, Daddona had a slam from setter Matthew Irizarry as the Rams closed to within 23-22, but a net violation on the next point gave the Gaels set point.

Two points later Shelton clinched the set on a missed serve, Cheshire’s ninth of the set. Cheshire also had two net violations in that sloppy second game.

The third set was similar to the Game 1. The foes were tied 4-4 when the Rams exploded for a 17-6 run behind potent offense from Lilback, Allen and Hayes as Irizarry set the table.

Shelton fended off four set points, but Allen finished it with a slam on the left side as Cheshire rolled to a 2-1 lead.

Cheshire used a 12-4 run in the midst of Game 4 to go up 19-9. Lilback had four kills and a block during that run. Daddona also had a long service run in a game filled with Shelton errors. Lilback finished the match with a kill.

“This means everything after losing to them last year,” said Irizarry, who had 37 assists on the night. “We came out here like any other game. We had beaten the twice this year and we knew what we were up against. We got our serves in and played well.” from their homes or killed after being charged with witchcraft using magic, usually to cause harm.”

Leading religious figures and founders of Connecticut played roles in the trials. John Haynes and Thomas Welles, the first and fourth colonial governors, were magistrates at the trials. Hartford’s founder, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, endorsed them.

The First Church in Windsor acknowledged complicity in 2017 and apologized for its role in the hanging of Young and another woman, Lydia Gilbert, during a time of unexplained deaths.

Garibay had to overcome skepticism about the need for the General Assembly to follow suit, as descendants of the executed had urged at the public hearing.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, acknowledged he had to be convinced.

“Traditionally, we do not do resolutions in the House, because you could go down a lot of rabbit holes. This one’s been worked on very hard,” Ritter said.

By rabbit holes, Ritter meant a fear that the House could be drawn into regular debates on matters not germane to the General Assembly or that have “no direct nexus to Connecticut.”

“We will be very firm in the future,” Ritter said. “Otherwise, we get opining on foreign policy in the United States government all day long. And we have two U.S. senators and five congressmen who do a fine job doing that for us.”

Garibay told the House the resolution was relevant.

“This complements the work that we are doing in the General Assembly by taking another step towards the justice that this government, our state, all of us, are constantly working towards,”

Garibay said. “It is far from frivolous.”

During the floor debate, Fishbein, R-Wallingford, took issue with the claims of misogyny. He read the names of a half-dozen men who were indicted on witchcraft charges, not all of whom were convicted.

“All appeared to be non-female, and therefore, it’sa people bill and not a women’s rights sort of initiative,” said Fishbein, who also serves as a Wallingford town councilor.

Dubitsky claimed a measure of absolution, or least vindication, for himself.

His challenging, and quotable, questions at the public hearing about whether the condemned could be proven innocent went viral, drawing ridicule: Did he really need evidence that Alice Young was not a witch?

Dubitsky said during the floor debate that he simply was exercising due diligence.

“We didn’t know at the time of that Judiciary Committee meeting what these people had been accused of, what they had been convicted of, and what the disposition of those convictions were. So I asked for some of that evidence,” Dubitsky said. “Well, silly me.”

All 98 Democrats voted for the resolution, joined by 23 of the 53 members of the Republican minority.

This story appeared at ctmirror.org, the website of the Connecticut Mirror.