Age Concern Whanganui keen to increase awareness of elder abuse

Age Concern Whanganui manager Michelle Malcolm. Photo / Bevan Conley

Age Concern Whanganui manager Michelle Malcolm says Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of maintaining contact with elderly people in the community.

But ahead of Elder Abuse Awareness Week, starting on June 15, Malcolm said the community had to question why "all forms of abuse" had increased in the past year.

She said the community spirit of Whanganui had been "overwhelming" throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the city had been very resilient.

"Community services all came together to make sure everything was going well for people who were older", Malcolm said.

"We've been in contact with all our volunteers and clients, and we made connections with those who hadn't been known to us.

Maintaining contact with the most vulnerable members of the community was very important, Malcolm said, so that people were aware of just what the Covid-19 restrictions meant.

"I had an elderly gentleman ring up and ask how long he was required to keep a two-metre distance from his wife."

"Obviously it wasn't required in their own home, even though he said he'd been enjoying it."

"One thing we'll be continuing post-Covid-19 is offering a grocery shopping service full time."

Elderly Abuse Awareness Week is set to run from June 15-22, and Malcolm said that there had been an increase in "all forms of abuse", not just among the elderly population.

"It's not okay, and we have to ask, why are we not making headway with this?

"Our own local stats indicate a rise in cases of self-neglect, for instance, and it's important to break the misconception that asking for help is a sign that people aren't coping.

"The Whanganui community would be horrified if they could see the situations some elderly people here are living in, and it's not a case of them wanting to be in that position."

"It can be down to their financial situation, their health, or their mobility, and things can get on top of them."

Malcolm said statistics showed that a high percentage of elderly abuse was at the hands of family members, something that could cause victims to remain silent.

"It can be incredibly hard to tell a stranger that your son or daughter has abused you.

"When people think 'abuse', they automatically think of physical abuse, but it can also be financial or psychological as well.

"Expecting grandma or grandad to offer free home and board, for example, or taking an Eftpos card to go shopping and taking out extra money.

"We need to talk about this more because these are the kinds of things that happen on a regular basis."

Malcolm said people needed to maintain awareness "365 days of the year", not just between June 15-22.

"If there's a concern, just ring us.

"We have a really good relationship with the police and other community networks."

"It's not all flowers and rainbows, and we need to address the darker issues that affect elderly people in Whanganui."