World Elder Abuse Day Monday

By GILLIAN SLADE on June 13, 2020.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

Monday is World Elder Abuse Day and those who work with seniors suggest the full impact of social isolation during the COVID-19 lockdown may not be fully apparent for a few more months.

Shantel Ottenbreit, community resource worker for the city, says during a recent conference call with provincial emergency social services workers this information was shared. People are often able to use their own coping skills to remain resilient through a crisis for about six months.

“After that point people’s ability to continue to cope in healthy ways begins to decline … and we begin to see increased risk of mental health problems,” she said.

Ottenbreit says there have been studies about coping strategies and how long people can live under stressful conditions before developing mental health concerns. There are concerns that a secondary wave to the pandemic will be mental health related.

In the first months of the lockdown people may have been focused on the concerns of COVID-19 but since the relaunch there has been an increase in the number of calls for help.

“I’ve had one call last week, two this week, and I anticipate this number to go up over the next little while,” said Ottenbreit.

Social isolation is often a tactic that abusers will use to cut vulnerable seniors off from others so that no one else can see what is going on or do anything to stop the abuse, said Ottenbreit.

The provincial theme for Elder Abuse Awareness Day is “Growing the Conversation” and in Medicine Hat the Saamis Tepee will be illuminated in purple lights on Monday.

Ottenbreit says the idea is to get people talking more openly about elder abuse and learning more about how each of us has a role to play in preventing it.

Some goes unreported but we know that 8.9 per cent of Albertans over 55 will experience elder abuse each year, said Ottenbreit.

“In Medicine Hat, that means approximately 1,780 older adults have or will experience one or more forms of abuse this year,” she said. “Elder abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of your gender, your education level, or your ability.”

If you have experienced elder abuse, or you are assisting someone who has – reach out and talk to someone. There is the 24/hour Family Violence Line at 310-1818.

Ottenbreit is responsible for a special initiative. The City had “You Matter” postcards printed and various organizations are using them to send a hand written message to people in the community.

“In a time of isolation when we can all feel so alone and lonely, we thought the message of ‘You Matter’ was a really important one to let them know how we feel about them,” said Ottenbreit.

About 2,000 have been mailed to seniors in our area and about 500 to non-seniors.

The response has been significant.

“Some express how nice it is to get a hand written, personal note – and in the mail, which doesn’t happen that often anymore,” said Ottenbreit.