By Canadian Mental Health Association

The Medicine Hat & Area Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition

Nov 15, 2019 | 9:52 AM

Everyone has the right to be safe and free from abuse or neglect. As a community we have a shared responsibility to create safe, strong, healthy communities. November is Family Violence Awareness Month, all ages are included and today we are focusing on our older adults.

The prevalence rate for Elder Abuse in Canada is 8.9% (2015, National Survey on the mistreatment of Older Canadians). In Medicine Hat we have 11,125 Seniors (2016 Medicine Hat Census Profile). This means that according to the national prevalence study, 990 Seniors in our community experienced Elder Abuse. This does not include the Seniors living in the many rural communities surrounding Medicine Hat who access services in our community. If you are to lower the age to 50+ the number of older adults being abused more than doubles. Currently seniors make up one third of all city residents. In twenty-five years that number is expected to increase to fifty percent!

Elder Abuse is complex in nature. Financial abuse is the most common type of abuse and family members are the most common type of abusers whether or not a Senior is living in a care home or in the community. The Medicine Hat & Area Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition defines elder abuse as “any action or inaction by a person(s) in a trusting relationship that jeopardizes the health or well being of an older adult causing harm or distress. Elder abuse can take several forms including, financial, psychological or emotional, sexual, spiritual and/or neglect.” The Mission of this coalition is “To work collaboratively to address Elder Abuse.”

Who are The Medicine Hat & Area Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition (MHEAPC) and what is their purpose? We are a group of key stakeholders who provide services to senior’s in Medicine Hat and Area, in our respective eighteen organizations. Coalition members meet monthly under the guidance of co-chairs Shantel Ottenbreit and Colleen Lewis to collectively create a coordinated community response model following a Government of Alberta provincial initiative; “Taking Action Against Elder Abuse.” The coalition has created resources for older adults and professionals alike. These resources have been shared on the Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council’s website at www.elderabuse.ca Resources and education are intended to help identify elder abuse and assist those who are being harmed and for those who suspect that abuse is happening to someone else. Knowing what to do and who to call for help is important for all community members. In Alberta the Provincial Family Violence Line is 310.1818 and it is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.

Another area of focus of the coalition is to raise awareness of elder abuse and ageism. Across our globe every June 15 we recognize and honor World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The color most often associated with abuse awareness is purple.

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Ageism is discrimination against older adults because they are older. It is the term used to describe attitudes and beliefs that lead people to treat older adults as if they were less important or less valued because they are older. These attitudes are a factor in abusive situations.

Ageism happens when you make up your mind about what a group of people are like because of their age. For example, have you ever thought ‘kids today spend too much time on computers?’ or if you’re behind a slow driver and thought ‘it must be an old person’. These are examples of ageism’s because they make a general statement about all young people or all older adults that can’t possibly be true.

Ageism is the most tolerated form of social prejudice. Try to hear the generalization you are making as a stereotype that does a disservice to individuals that contributes to perpetuating the isms (ageism, racism, sexism, etc.). Stereotyping is very common and we need to make an effort to recognize it in ourselves first. Many people unconsciously or consciously link aging to becoming dependent, weak and less important. We all need to become more aware of how and when we treat people as if they have less value, just because of their age.

In Medicine Hat who can you call for help? In an emergency call 9.1.1. For older adult fleeing abuse call the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society 403.529.1091 or 1.800.661.7949. For older adults living in care facilities call the Protection for Persons in Care reporting line 1.888.357.9339. If the abuse is sexual in nature call or text, the Alberta Sexual Assault Line 1.866.403.8000.