UW-Superior hosts community forum to stop epidemic of maltreatment of older adults
The University of Wisconsin-Superior Center for Continuing Education hosts local commemoration of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) with the Twin Ports Elder Abuse Awareness and Prevention Community Forum on Thursday, June 15, at4:30 p.m. at UW-Superior.
Financial exploitation, fraud, scams, emotional and physical maltreatment and neglect are all forms of elder abuse. This forum will include a keynote presentation “Elder Abuse Warning Signs and Civil Remedies” by Attorney Will Baynard, Elder Rights Project Attorney at Wisconsin Judicare as well as a panel of professionals from the Twin Ports who work with those experiencing elder abuse. Presenters will provide examples of various types of abuse and discuss appropriate responses through several case studies. They will focus on what everyone can do to identify, report and prevent abuse. They will answer questions from participants and refer to area resources.
“According to estimates by the National Center on Elder Abuse and the Center for Disease Control, anestimate 5 million or 1 in 10 older Americans experience some type of abuse each year,” said Esther Gieschen, program manager for the Center for Continuing Education at UW-Superior. “Using 2010 census data, that means more than 3,800 older adults experienced abuse each year in the greater Twin Ports area. Estimates of unreported cases vary from 14 to 20.5 for every case that is reported. With our increasing older adult population, more people than ever are likely to experience some type of abuse.”
The forum will be held in Swenson Hall on the UW-Superior campus and is free to the public with registration before June 9; then $10. CEUs are available for an additional $10. There will be resources and a light meal from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. with a program and more resources from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. To register, visit uwsuper.edu/cce.
The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations (UN) launched the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on June 15, 2006, in an effort to unite communities around the world in raising awareness about elder abuse. The local planning group includes representatives from Douglas County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), Center Against Sexual & Domestic Abuse (CASDA), Minnesota Elder Justice Center, Till, Salzer & Blank, Ltd., Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Superior Housing Authority, City of Duluth Senior Programs, Superior Choice Credit Union and The Center for Continuing Education at UW-Superior.
For more information about this forum, please contact Esther Gieschen at (715)394-8529 or egiesche@uwsuper.edu.
