After an elderly woman welcomed her adult son to move back in to her home when he lost his job, she was swindled out of her finances and forced to move into the uncomfortable basement bedroom. It was a scripted short film presented to an audience of older adults during the town's World Elder Abuse Day lunch, but it's story line was meant as a cautionary tale - and a wake up call - to those unaware of what elder abuse might look like. "How uncomfortable does this make you?" the audience was asked after the filming. Elder abuse, as the presenters put it, has been difficult to identify since society is either unaware it can be reported to authorities, or are hesitant to report it. "I think it's seen as an internal family issue that we don't need to deal with - it's private so why is it our concern," said Sharon Moore seniors’ project facilitator with FCSS. Moore, who started work on elder abuse issues in Cochrane back in 2016, is now at the head of the town's latest plan to combat the problem of elder abuse with a "CLEAR" strategy - Community Lead Elder Abuse Response - which was launched the same day. The strategy is aimed at involving the community as much as possible. The initiative includes educating the public on what constitutes harm towards older adults, how to intervene before it becomes a problem, and highlighting and co-ordinating local providers that can assist seniors and families. Moore said she's hoping the strategy will increase the likelihood of abuse being reported. According to the province, only four to eight per cent of elder abuse cases are reported to authorities such as health officials or police in Alberta. "It's extremely under reported," Moore said. Some situations also make it difficult to involve police or to apply criminal charges. "One of the things we struggle with in these incidents is that often, for example if it's financial, often the person has given access to their accounts. In the criminal code, that's giving them access, so you're allowing it. At some point, (the victim) needs to say 'no, you can't do it anymore' and often that's really difficult," said Inspector Lauren Weave with Cochrane RCMP. She added the problem is often made more difficult because the person swindling could be the only person the victim feels can care for them. Additionally, Weave said in many cases police only need be there to direct the senior and the family to the right resources. "Criminal charges are not always the way to go, sometimes it's just a matter of getting support for the person, for the senior in a different manner," Weave said. Moore added that using the CLEAR model can also help caregivers find the resources they need that they previously might not have realized were available to them. "It might be an issue of an adult child being frustrated because they need to care for their parent and they don't have the skills or they don't have the patience or the time because they're also caring for their own family. So there are services that could support them," Moore said. "These are the unknowns, these are the pieces that we need to get out there so that people understand you know, don't be embarrassed. Ask for help because you'll be helping your older adult child as well. These are the messages we need to get across - let's start talking about it. " Partners of the CLEAR network include: Alberta Health Services, Bethany Cochrane, Primary Care Network, RCMP and Cochrane Victim Services, Seniors on the Bow, the Town of Cochrane – Cochrane Family and Community Support Services and Western Rocky View Family and Community Resource Centre.
