While World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is this coming Saturday, the Aging Office of Western Nebraska will observe it Friday with a special event at the Gering Civic Plaza.
The organization seeks to raise awareness of the issue in our communities, and says abuse of our elderly residents can take many forms.
Kelly Davis with the Aging Office says the best thing you can do to help combat the problem is to become informed. “It’s very important that that we stay aware because they’re a very, very vulnerable population. Many of them are suffering from multiple different conditions. some of them dementia and Alzheimer’s,” Davis said. “A lot of times those folks can’t speak out, and also, many of our elders won’t speak out because they don’t want to cause any problems.”
Davis says many think elder abuse is just physical abuse, but it can also involve scamming them by phone, text messaging, emails, or verbal abuse, as well as someone taking advantage of their finances.
The one-hour observance which also includes ice cream will start at 1 p.m., and if you have questions, you can contact the Aging Office at 308-635-0851.
