THUNDER BAY — Elder abuse can take many forms and often be overlooked by those unaware of its signs and a new tool aims to educate possible victims and alert those who might already be in those situations.
In July, Statistics Canada estimated over 28,000 people in the region are over the age of 65, representing an estimated one-sixth of the city's total population. Often, seniors are targeted for online fraud and telephone and banking scams, but the at-risk population is also targeted for emotional, financial and physical abuse.
Rebecca Johnson, a former city councillor and a co-chair of the elder abuse committee within Age Friendly Thunder Bay, was surprised by the number of abuse incidents within the community.
"I was not really aware of the extent of elder abuse in the community, but you find the statistics are alarming," she said, adding that while there is a handbook aimed at helping identify instances of abuse, it wasn't up to date.
"It didn't have a lot of information, and it was seven to eight years old. It was completely outdated."
After seeking provincial funding and a consultant to help write an updated version, the group put together the new handbook which will be distributed across the region.
"I've been doing workshops with people from our elder abuse community throughout the last this fall, and the stories that you hear are not only alarming, but they're frightening, and people just don't know, they don't know that they're being abused," Johnson said.
She hopes that having the education available might help someone not to lose everything or even be physically hurt.
Thunder Bay Police Service Det.Const. Kevin Middleton, who works in the service's crimes against seniors division, helped write the handbook and pulled from his experience in the unit.
He noted he often gets calls to clarify better what might be elder abuse.
"I do receive a lot of phone calls from the public asking 'what do I do suspect [elder abuse]? What should I do?' And so this booklet will answer all those questions and open up my time to start investigating some of the cases I've been working with," Middleton said.
More information about Age Friendly Thunder Bay, and available resources, are available online.
