National campaign to fight elder abuse receives Gold Marketing Communications Award for Consumer Public Relations Campaign

Elder Justice Now, a national video advocacy campaign to help enact the Elder Justice Act and create greater awareness around elder abuse, received a Gold Marketing Communications Award for a Consumer Public Relations Campaign from the 19th annual National Mature Media Awards. The largest awards program of its kind, the National Mature Media Awards recognizes the best advertising, marketing, and educational materials produced for older adults. The Elder Justice Now campaign was produced jointly by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and WITNESS, with the support of the Elder Justice Coalition.

“We are proud of the recognition this campaign has received from the National Mature Media Awards,” said Jim Firman, president and CEO of NCOA. “Elder Justice Now has been a tremendously collaborative campaign involving the contributions of dozens of partnering organizations, with whom we have been honored to work alongside in this national effort.”

The Elder Justice Now campaign, which significantly contributed to the successful passage of the Elder Justice Act earlier this year, was initiated in 2009. Through the use of video and the Internet, the campaign showcased the faces of hundreds of individuals who have been touched by this growing problem in an effort to heighten the visibility of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and to give elders and advocates a voice in affecting policy change.

“Putting a human face to elder abuse was extremely important to the successful implementation of achieving greater advocacy around this issue,” said Kelly Matheson, program manager for the Americas, WITNESS. “This campaign was a prime example of how video advocacy can affect change.”

NCOA partnered with WITNESS, an international human rights organization specializing in video advocacy, to produce “An Age for Justice: Confronting Elder Abuse in America,” a documentary featuring stories of four elder abuse survivors and their families.

The documentary was combined with more than 100 additional stories told by advocates, caregivers, law enforcement officials and other survivors to create a compelling collage of testimonials, which were shared with Congress through the use of online, social and traditional media, grassroots efforts, and direct advocacy, including a briefing on Capitol Hill.

The passage of the Elder Justice Act authorizes first-time dedicated federal funding for Adult Protective Services over the next four years and increased funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Additionally, the act establishes an Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the coordination of activities of federal, state, local and private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Elder Justice Now campaign has been an integral part of the work of the Elder Justice Coalition, a group of 640 partnering organizations throughout the country who advocate on behalf of the millions of victims of elder abuse to pass the Elder Justice Act. Elder abuse is a silent issue that robs the nation’s elders of their dignity, their security and, in some cases, costs them their lives. Elder Justice Now provided a platform for America’s frail and vulnerable elders to be seen and heard. To view the documentary and the other testimonials, click here .

In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Link TV will broadcast An Age for Justice: Confronting Elder Abuse in America on June 15 at 8:30 p.m. EST on DIRECTV, the DISH Network and select cable networks.  The film features stories of elder abuse recorded by video advocates across the U.S., and is part of the Elder Justice Now campaign, a joint effort of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and WITNESS to raise awareness of the increasing prevalence of elder abuse in the United States.

“Elder abuse is a growing but underreported problem, and we are grateful to Link TV for sharing these compelling stories with millions of viewers,” said Jim Firman, president and CEO of NCOA. “This national broadcast gives a voice to many victims, and we hope it will encourage people to be vigilant against abuse in their lives and lives of their loved ones, and to advocate with their political representatives.”

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), as many as two million Americans aged 65 or older may have suffered abuse of some sort. The NCEA defines abuse as any intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult including financial, physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

In addition to Link TV’s nationwide broadcast on June 15, WITNESS and NCOA have launched a national screening initiative to distribute the film and 11 other individual videos. Community organizations, senior centers, and all others are invited to host screenings in order to raise awareness about the silent issue of elder abuse.  Visit here for additional information. Link TV will also promote the broadcast and stream the video via their website, www.linktv.org .

About Link TV
Link TV is an independent non-commercial network devoted to global issues, available in 32 million U.S. homes receiving satellite television on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410. Select programs are shown on more than 170 local cable systems, on many college campus channels and streamed worldwide on the Internet. For more information, click here.

About Witness
WITNESS is an international human rights organization that uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organizations around the globe, WITNESS empowers human rights defenders to use video to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools of justice. WITNESS has partnered with groups in more than 70 countries, bringing often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public – prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting change.

About the National Council on Aging
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is a non-profit service and advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, DC. NCOA is a national voice for older Americans – especially those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged – and the community organizations that serve them. It brings together non-profit organizations, businesses and government to develop creative solutions that improve the lives of all older adults. NCOA works with thousands of organizations across the country to help seniors find jobs and benefits improve their health, live independently and remain active in their communities. For more information, click here.

Over the course of the last decade, the Elder Justice Coalition has been fighting to secure passage of the Elder Justice Act. To support the passage of this landmark legislation and empower Americans to speak up about the growing crisis of elder abuse, the National Council on Aging (NCOA), WITNESS and 17 elder rights advocates from across the nation went into the homes of courageous American seniors to document their poignant stories about abuse, neglect and exploitation. With the video footage we produced a short documentary, An Age for Justice: Confronting Elder Abuse in America and over 100 video testimonies. These films and short messages were then sent directly to Congress with a request to pass the Elder Justice Act (EJA). Our federal government responded on March 23 when this bill was signed into law as part of the comprehensive health reform legislation.

While health care reform captured the national headlines, the EJA unquestionably deserves our attention. When asked about provisions of health reform that received little fanfare, Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pointed to the EJA — legislation that gives our nation a solid framework to protect seniors from being beaten, neglected and exploited. She stated, “[The Elder Justice Act] has been an issue talked about for a very long time . . . . It’s now the law of the land. It was part of the underlying Senate bill, and I don’t think many people have ever focused on the fact that this is an important step forward for seniors in America.”

The reason this is an important step forward is because the EJA is the most comprehensive federal legislation ever enacted to combat elder abuse. The EJA authorizes increased federal resources and leadership to support state and community efforts to prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse. It also authorizes funding for broad-based education and awareness efforts.

While this is a critical victory for today’s seniors and each of the 76 million boomers that have a one in ten chance of facing elder abuse as our society grays, the work is not done. We now need Congress to fund and implement the EJA. This process now sits in the hands of the appropriations committees in the House and Senate.

For now, all of us at Elder Justice Now would like to thank each of you who spoke up by writing to your Congressional Representative. Your voice made a difference. And for those of you who shared your story, a very special thanks. We know the strength this took. As Pat Smith, one of the courageous seniors so succinctly states, “I don’t think this is an issue people like to think or talk about.” While true, we all must continue this conversation.

To be a part of the national effort to raise awareness of this growing crisis, we encourage everyone reading this along with elders, members of the Aging Services Network, grassroots groups, senior centers, retirement homes, congregations, law enforcement, health care providers, academics and any individual with grandparents across the country to Host-A-Screening of the short documentary film, An Age for Justice: Confronting Elder Abuse in America. By hosting a community screening of the film you will be protecting the dignity of today’s seniors and helping to ensure we can all live free from abuse tomorrow.

It is crucial to get word to Congress this week that the Elder Justice Act should be passed this year. Signing a petition can help make Elder Justice Now a reality.

To sign the petition or to take other actions that will ensure passage, click here.

If you are looking for reasons why it’s so important,  read the comments from those who have already signed the petition. They give the reasons why passage is so important to our nation’s elders. Feel free to add your own comments in reaction to this blog entry!

“I support funding for fighting elder abuse. The economic downturn has cut most of the infrastructure in my county and there is a great need to put it back in place.”– CA

“Elder abuse is appalling. It is unconsionable. We need this Act passed to gve our elders the respect they deserve and to allow us to benefit from the grace of their wisdom.” — MD

“Elder abuse is a hidden reality in our society. Please help us prevent abuse of our elders and develop a comprehesive response to prevent and intervene in these cases.” NY

“It comes as a shock that here in the United States we can pass the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in1974 and 20 years later the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. yet there is no federal legislation that protects our elders.” — NY

“I work with the frail elderly who are often the victims of abuse by their own family members. We often don’t have the resources or legal means to protect them.” — NY

“The  humanty of our society is measured in how we treat our most vulnerable members.” — CA

“Abuse continues to rise, especially financial abuse and resources continue to decrease. Please help stop the suffering of our elders and [support] the systems that serve them.” — CA

“Seniors need protection, families need support and guidance…Passing the Elder Justice Act will help seniors get the care and respect they deserve.” — CA

“As a member of the Pennsylvania Council on Aging and having worked in aging services for 13 years, the need for this legislation is absolute.” — PA

“States can no longer bear the burden of adult protective services alone.” — WI

“Prosecution of elder abuse cases has improved, bu we still have a long way to go to protect our seniors.” — CA

“We should always protect all living creatures that cannot protect themselves. The elderly should not leave this world with their last days filled with neglect or abuse.” –NJ

Need I say more? Please sign the petition now.

A Message from NCOA President and CEO Jim Firman

October 17, 2009

There are important lessons to be learned about elder abuse in America from the now concluded Brooke Astor case.

One is the need to close the loop and ensure federal protection for the nation’s seniors, especially the vulnerable and the frail. Currently, there are federal laws governing domestic violence and child abuse, but few related to elder abuse. In some states like New York and California, there is great attention paid to prosecuting elder abuse. In others, there is not.

Another is that elder abuse can happen to anyone. Take Carolyn Crewey of Houston, Texas who, at age 90, lost her home, much of her furniture, and had her bank account compromised at the hands of a ‘good friend.’ Or, Vicki Bastion, 92, of Hayward, California who installed a security gate inside her home to protect her and what values she had left from her grandson and his gang-related friends who had moved in with her.

These video stories and hundreds of others the National Council on Aging and WITNESS have videotaped over the past six months as part of our Elder Justice Now campaign show the need for far more awareness, training and education about elder abuse. Families, caregivers, law enforcement and our financial institutions all need to be on the lookout for its signs.

As a baby boomer, I am concerned that there is little attention being paid to this issue just as the largest generation in history is entering its third age and turning 60. It’s time for Congress to pass the Elder Justice Act, a bill that would provide increased federal resources and leadership to support state and community efforts to prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse.

On September 15, roughly 150 advocates for elder rights from around the United States will be visiting their representatives in the U.S. Congress in an Advocacy Day organized by WITNESS partner NCOA, the National Council on Aging. Among the issues they’ll be advocating for is the passing of the Elder Justice Act (EJA), federal legislation that would provide a foundation to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in and prosecute elder abuse.

Each year, an estimated 5 million elders in the U.S. are subject to physical, financial, and mental abuse resulting in illness, suffering, and premature death.   WITNESS and NCOA are working on a new video that will Break the Silence on this crisis and urge Congress to prioritize and pass the EJA.  Several elders and advocates have already sent their video messages to Congress.  You can take action too!

3 Things You Can Do Now

1. Sign this petition calling on Congress to Pass the EJA
2. Urge your senators and representatives and ask them to support the EJA
3. Help Break the Silence and Share Your Story of elder abuse via text or video

According to Fred Joseph, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, “Elder financial abuse is becoming the crime of the 21st century’’. He was quoted in a Washington Post article that focused on the link between the growing recession in the U.S. and the increase in elder financial abuse. Though there may be debate about if elder financial abuse is the ‘crime of the century’, there is no doubt that it is a burgeoning crisis in the U.S. This video from the California Attorney General’s Office is a good introduction to the issue – and how to help prevent elder financial abuse.

As we’ve written about, WITNESS and the National Council on Aging have partnered to address a silent crisis in America: elder abuse. This summer and fall, dozens of video stories and testimonies about elder abuse, some from the estimated annual five million victims of elder abuse, are being gathered and shared to help break the silence and pass the Elder Justice Act, pending legislation that will provide holistic support to help detect, prosecute and prevent elder abuse.

Elder abuse can take many forms (which you can learn more about here and here), one of which is the financial abuse of seniors – the illegal or improper use of an elder’s funds, property or assets. Examples range from the financial abuse my colleague Kelly’s grandmother endured when she was swindled by a door-to-door salesman (read thief) to a family member signing checks from their elder’s account without permission.

Though underreported, the annual loss is estimated to be at least $2.6 billion, according to a recent report (pdf) from MetLife Mature Market Institute, produced in conjunction with the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and Virginia Tech University. It goes on to state that the typical victim of elder abuse is a woman over 75 who lives alone and the “increased aging population, social changes, and technology advances will lead to a dramatic increase in the opportunity for a growing level of elder abuse”.

There is a silent crisis that effects every community in America: Elder abuse. Each year an estimated 5 million of America’s older adults are beaten, ignored or financially exploited. Yet, as a country, we remain silent about this growing crisis.

To begin to address this problem, Congress has an immediate opportunity to pass federal legislation that will provide a foundation from which we can begin to protect our country’s elders — the Elder Justice Act. But we cannot do this without your help. Please help us break the silence by adding your voice to the national campaign and urge Congress to pass the Elder Justice Act now!

3 Things You Can DO

• Share a story below (in comments section)
• Sign this petition
• Subscribe to WITNESS’ Video for Change newsletter and learn about the NCOA network

More Information on the Elder Justice Act and the campaign to get it passed

• A background on the elder justice now campaign
• FAQ about elder abuse
• What the Elder Justice Act is and will do
• WITNESS’ Partner: NCOA

Monday, June 15, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which works to recognize elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue and raise awareness to put an end to the abuse and neglect of older persons. The day is sponsored by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA), and it asks you to show your support by attending or hosting an event on Monday – as well as by wearing the color purple.

WITNESS is partnered with the National Council on Aging to help break the silence on elder abuse in the United States – and urge Congress to pass the Elder Justice Act. On this day of World Elder Abuse Awareness, I wanted to feature some of the best elder abuse-related videos we’ve found so far (if you know of others, please share them with us!).
First up is a very powerful 30-second elder abuse public service announcement out of Ontario, Canada. There are very few videos out there on elder abuse from North America (outside of lawyers trying to get clients), but I believe this one could be replicated and reused in many societies.

Age Demands Action is a video from Help Age International that features actions to raise awareness and call for accountability of elder abuse in 35 countries on October 1, 2008. I think it is a good video to highlight an elder justice campaign by, for and on behalf of older persons.

This video from Age Concern of New Zealand is a good intro to what elder abuse is and how people need to act to deal with it. It focuses on respect and the video serves as a training resource examines what ‘respect’ means and includes case studies that show how a lack of respect can lead to elder abuse and neglect.

This video is of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about the Elder Justice Act in 2008 as the House Democratic Caucus Chairman.

Special thanks to Masha Medvedkov, a fantastic WITNESS intern, for her research for and assistance with this post, which was originally posted on the WITNESS Hub.

Jeanette Lazarofsky, an advocate for older adults in Houston, TX, is surprised that there is no federal law protecting the nation’s elders. She urges Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) to support the Elder Justice Act.

Older Americans, especially the very old and vulnerable, should not have to live in fear of being abused physically, psychologically or financially.

The Elder Justice Act would provide the resources needed to help those who now fight elder abuse with scarce resources and fragmented systems.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Nancy Wilson tells how a family member forced an elderly Texas man to live in a garage where he was malnourished and dehydrated.

For every one case of elder abuse, five go unreported.

The Elder Justice Act will increase the capacity of prosecutors across the country to bring elder abuse charges.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action.

Lydia Delgado of Houston is a case worker and tells of a case of neglect in which adult protective services helped the family better care for the elder. She calls on Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) to support the Elder Justice Act.

Older adults who experience mistreatment have a 300% higher risk of death.

The Elder Justice Act would provide needed funds for those who have been fighting elder abuse on the front lines.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Juan Diaz of New York City tells how adult protective services helped him deal with his son’s issues. His adult son was living with him in senior housing.

Elder abuse affects seniors across all socio-economic groups, but “older” seniors are more likely to be victimized.

The Elder Justice Act would provide the support for state and community efforts and the resources needed by those who work on the front lines preventing, fighting and prosecuting elder abuse.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Leo and Fern Marczynski of Lansing, MI tell of their exploitation by a broker. They call on Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) to pass the Elder Justice Act.

Financial abuse alone costs the nation’s seniors some $2.6 billion a year.

The Elder Justice Act would educate law enforcement, financial institutions, caregivers and family members about elder financial abuse.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Roger Spooner of Michigan, who worked in adult protective services for many years, believes that there needs to be broader recognition of the problem elder abuse presents. He urges Congress to give front line workers the support they need.

The Elder Justice Act would ensure public/private infrastructure and resources needed to prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in, and, where appropiate, prosecute elder abuse.

Get Involved: take action now!

Priscilla Strakovits of Farmington Hills, Michigan is a certified senior adviser and says that financial exploitation of seniors is as serious as any other kind of elder abuse. She calls on Congress and U.S. Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) to pass the Elder Justice Act.

There are an estimated 5 million elders who experience some form of abuse each year.

The Elder Justice Act will help identify and share the best ways to prevent abuse and protect America’s seniors.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Henrietta Tolhurst was told she had won $22,000 and all she had to do was pay the taxes and attorney’s fees, put the money in a magazine and leave it for the caller and she’d get her prize money. She urges Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to pass the Elder Justice Act to protect people like her.

Financial abuse alone costs the nation’s seniors some $2.6 billion a year.

The Elder Justice Act would educate law enforcement, financial institutions, caregivers and family members about elder financial abuse.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Kamala Harris, San Francisco District Attorney, says people who abuse seniors are taking advantage of their vulnerabilities. Their right to safety is a civil right.

There are federal laws governing domestic violence and child abuse, but none related to elder abuse.

The Elder Justice Act will finally provide the national leadership needed to address the problem of elder abuse in America.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.

Prescott Cole, a San Francisco attorney, tells of financial predators who prey on elders that are protected by the current system. He calls on Congress to pass the Elder Justice Act.

Older Americans, especially the very old and vulnerable, should not have to live in fear of being abused physically, psychologically or financially.

The Elder Justice Act would provide the resources needed to help those who now fight elder abuse with scarce resources and fragmented systems.

Your support is needed. Get involved. Take action now.