Abuse of Older Adults

Addressing the abuse of older adults or elder abuse is a major strategic priority for the NWT Seniors’ Society. The research the Society carried out last year 2010 and the input from the Making Connections Symposium held in Yellowknife November 29 to December 1, 2010 clearly showed that abuse of older adults continues to be a major social issue in communities throughout the NWT.

Older adult abuse takes on many forms including: physical, psychological, financial, verbal, sexual, and emotional abuse with financial abuse being the most prevalent. This is consistent with the situation across Canada.

While we are starting to see more elders and seniors coming forward to get help when they are being abused, many suffer in silence for a variety of reasons including fear, shame, loneliness, not wanting to get relatives in trouble and so on. The Society recognizes that families need to be stable and supportive of seniors and elders. Seniors and elders cannot live in fear for their safety and security and the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all residents in a community is the responsibility of the whole community.

Safe shelters, trained and confident front line workers, stronger youth and elder relationships are some of the outcomes of work which will continue in this area as we press ahead with Phase III of the Building Networks Project.

The members of the Society’s Board of Directors, Staff Team members, and community partners will work to ensure seniors and elders groups and committees are established in communities where there are no groups at the present time. The groups, once established, are a community resource to the seniors and elders, providing a place for meetings, recreational activities, sharing of culture and traditional knowledge as well as offering a comfortable, safe environment.

The Society is committed to working with communities and seniors and elders groups and committees to facilitate the development of support networks at the regional and community level to address the abuse of older adults

A framework to develop support networks which include front line workers, health and social services staff, seniors/elders and others is currently being developed. A Plan of Action will be developed based on the document; A Framework for Action will guide the Society in supporting regions and communities in the development of support networks.

If you or your community organization would like to have a workshop on elder abuse, or to explore the establishment of a support network, please contact Angus Mackay at (867) 920-7444 or call our toll-free number 1-800-661-0878.

Building Networks to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults Project

The Building Networks Project is the latest effort by the NWT Seniors’ Society to prevent abuse of older adults.

The objectives of this project are:

• To identify recent/current elder abuse awareness, intervention, prevention practices in the various regions of the Northwest Territories;
• To facilitate the establishment of information networks and share information on best/promising practice to address all aspects of elder abuse in the various regions of the Northwest Territories;
• To develop support networks for those involved in addressing elder abuse in the various regions of the Northwest Territories.

There are three distinct phases to this project and these are outlined as follows:

Phase I - Information Gathering

This activity is now complete. Lutra Associates Ltd was contracted by the Society to carry out this work. The research document entitled: Making Connections - Building Networks to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults - Phase I Research Report (February 2011) is now available .

Phase II - NWT-Wide Symposium

This phase was completed during November 30 and December 1, 2010 at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife. A number of presentations were shown at the symposium. The following presentations were made:

• RCMP NWT Statistics and Police Response
• Department of Health and Social Services
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• The University of Victoria - Response-Based Approaches to people who have been harmed by violence
• Keynote Address
• Promising Approaches to Addressing Elder Abuse
• Preliminary Phase 1 Findings

The symposium objectives

• Provide an opportunity to network and share experiences as well as best/promising practice to address the abuse of older adults; and
• To begin the process of developing regional and community support networks to address the issue of the abuse of older adults in the NWT.

Access the Symposium report: Making Connections - Building Networks to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults - Symposium Report (February 2011).

Phase III - Internet, Information and Support Network Development

The Society, together with its partners on the Project Steering Committee have developed a document Entitled, Making Connections - Building Networks to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults: A Framework for Action. Work will begin soon to develop a detailed work plan based on the findings and recommendations presented in the reports on Phase I & II and the Framework for Action Document.

The NWT Seniors' Society has also created a large resource library and directory for items on the topic of Abuse of Older Adults.