Services offered by Age Concern are many and varied as demonstrated via a comprehensive presentation at the recent Grey Power Federation annual meeting.
Age Concern chief executive Karen Billings-Jensen covered virtually every aspect of why, who, where, what and how Age Concern carries out is objectives.
Dedicated to seniors over the age of 65 and interacting with more than 7500 people weekly, the organisation provides a wide range of services which come broadly under the headings of visiting, health promotion and support and elder abuse and neglect prevention.
Looking closely at elder abuse and what it can represent, the presentation highlighted areas such as psychological, financial, physical, neglect, institutional, and sexual abuse.
Alarmingly, some actions which may be intended as well-meaning could be considered elder abuse. For example, psychological abuse – an adult daughter talks to her father and makes decisions without asking him. She maintains she can speak for him because he is deaf, he doesn’t remember and she knows what he wants.
The presentation, based on ACNZ database statistics 2021-2022, showed that psychological abuse stood at 89%, followed by financial at 37%. Moreover, the statistics showed the majority of people causing harm were adult children.
Whilst Ms Billings-Jensen’s presentation outlined the prevalence of elder abuse it also featured ways in which Age Concern could help address abusive situations. In particular the organisation can:
- Listen to the story and assess the situation
- Respect the wishes of the older person
- Make safety and well-being the main consideration,
- Explore options and develop a plan
- Aim to resolve concerns cooperatively with all involved
- Work with other agencies to put the right supports in place.
The national helplines EA NOT OKAY 0800 32 668 65 is freely available 24/7 to discuss elder abuse.
