JUNE IS ALS AWARENESS MONTH VOLUME 27, NUMBER 2, JUNE 2018
Free!
JUNE 17
PUBLISHED BY KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK | A PROUD PART OF ABERDEEN PUBLISHING | LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Facing facts about elder abuse By Moneca Jantzen June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and is intended to shine a light on an ugly reality. Just as with women and children, we are supposed to treat our elders with reverence, respect, kindness and care — a group of people that should be treated well and protected from harm. For a number of reasons our elders can become vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and poor treatment by family members, caregivers and perfect strangers as their circumstances change. Perhaps your mother has been befriended by a someone after the death of her spouse who manages to gain her trust, but one day your mom notices things are going missing including money out of her wallet. Maybe your grandson has moved into the spare room with a promise to help you but instead becomes verbally abusive and intimidating and more of a problem than a help. A new caregiver is tending to your father a couple of times a
week and he’s acting fearful and getting an awful lot of bruises and unexplained injuries. One of your siblings has managed to alienate your parents from the rest of the family. Suddenly your parents are having financial problems and need to sell their home. Someone knocks on your grandmother’s door and talks her into signing a dubious contract for a service she doesn’t need. While hypothetical, all of these scenarios are far too real and happen much too often. Measures must be taken to guard against all of them. Making seniors aware of what can happen as they age and ways that others may abuse, exploit or harm them is critical. General vigilance by others is also key. A 2015 Canada Statistics report suggests that about four percent of seniors will experience some form of abuse. This means that in this growing demographic, estimated to be 25 percent of the Canadian population by 2031, many people will be
RETIREES EAGER† TO TRY NEW HEARING AID Try For Yourself a Hearing Aid That Truly Enhances the Modern Retiree Lifestyle.
2.5cm
affected. Fortunately there are local resources available for informing oneself about the problem and/ or getting help. The Centre for Seniors Information (CSI) HEROS Program (Help Educate Refer Outreach for Seniors) started in 2001/2002 and was created to provide support and information for those who are experiencing abuse and do not know where to get help or what they can do to prevent the abuse from continuing. This also applies to those who have witnessed or are concerned about a senior who they believe may be in an abusive situation. The HEROS Program is funded through grants and donations along with the rest of the programs offered by CSI. New Horizons for Seniors is a grant that has supported this program over the years. Brenda Prevost, executive director of CSI and national peer trainer, is a passionate advocate for seniors facing any form of elder abuse.
Elder abuse takes many forms including neglect, physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse and is typically under-reported. HEROS is a program offered by our local Centre for Seniors Information (CSI) offering help and information for the prevention of elder abuse. Help or information can be accessed by visiting the Centre for Seniors in Brock Shopping Centre of by calling 778-470-6000. Ask for Brenda or Brandi. “Generally it is a challenge to estimate the prevalence and incidence of elder abuse. This is due to many factors such as under-reporting, confusion about what constitutes elder abuse, and a general lack of awareness, among other factors. However, based on available Canadian data, it is estimated that between four and ten
Kamloops Downtown 208-321 Nicola Street Call toll-free 1-855-800-7923
Can you see it?
At last. A smart, stylish hearing aid that provides maximum benefit to those with hearing loss.
percent of older adults in personal hygiene. Canada experience some • Physical Abuse: Signs type of abuse. (National include untreated or Seniors Council, 2007)” unexplainable injuries in explains Prevost. various stages of healing, Elder abuse can take limb and skull fractures, several forms. Among bruises, black eyes and them: welts. • Neglect: Signs include • Psychological/ unkempt appearance, emotional abuse: Watch broken glasses, lack of for changes in behavior appropriate clothing as (emotional upset/ well as malnutrition, agitation resulting in dehydration and poor See "Steps to take" page 19
Kamloops North Shore Northills Centre 700 Tranquille Road Call toll-free 1-855-802-3214
Formerly
rather than thinking about your hearing.
The latest digital hearing aid technology solves the biggest challenge for hearing aid wearers–hearing well in noisy environments.‡
State-of-the-art dynamic features improve speech understanding significantly, provide better noise management and focus on accurate amplification in any environment.
Everything works automatically. There are no controls to worry about and adjustments are easy to make–even from your smart phone. So you can get back to enjoying your relationships,
Take the first step to hearing better by getting a test. A FREE hearing test takes less than 60 minutes, you don’t need a doctor’s referral, and there’s no purchase required.
Live Life Completely!
TRUSTED PARTNER OF HearingLife is registered in good standing with WorkSafeBC. VAC Health Identification Cards Accepted. Hearing tests are provided free of charge for adults ages 18 and older. Please see clinic for details. Offer not valid in Quebec. † http://hearinglife.ca/ Promo Code retireesresearch ‡ https://www.oticon.ca/solutions/opn MAG-RTIR-TCON