|
|
|
|
 |
With 29 per cent of Peterborough County residents 55 or over, there is a concern that a great number of older adults may be at risk, according to the Abuse Prevention of Older Adults Network (APOAN). That’s why the month of June, for the first time ever, has been proclaimed as Older Adult Abuse Awareness month. In partnership with other local organizations, APOAN has planned a month of activities, such as the recent kick-off in Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough. Dignitaries were in attendance, such as Mayor Sylvia Sutherland, but MPP Gary Stewart and MP Peter Adams could not attend and sent letters of support in their absence. "It can take many forms," notes Mayor Sutherland of older adult abuse. "Some are very obvious, but there is always an insidious nature to the abuse," she points out. "And this could happen to any of us," the mayor reminds the crowd. At the kick-off, Grace Hill was honoured with a certificate of appreciation from the network. The rural-area mail carrier for Canada Post was singled out because of her history in going above and beyond the call of duty to help out seniors. Grace and her husband, Earle, who could not attend, frequently check in on older county residents who are on their mail routes, making sure they are okay or taking steps to ensure they easily get their larger parcels. Peterborough Lakefield Police Chief Terry McLaren, who was also in attendance, says all his uniformed officers have received three and a half hours of in-service training to be able to handle situations of abuse for older county residents. "We wanted to have that training in place for abuse recognition and prevention training," says the chief. "We committed to this three years ago," he adds. The network is a local team of older adults, professionals and service organizations formed in 1988 to prevent and eliminate older adult abuse through awareness, education and co-ordination of services. In 2001, they successfully applied for an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant and hired a project co-ordinator (Helen Perkins) to raise awareness and educate all sectors. |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Send
this page to a friend |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
