Seniors, caregivers and professionals listen as El Paso County Department of Human Services Deputy Executive Director Chris Garvin speaks Friday, June 15, for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at Silver Key Senior Services.
Nearly 70 seniors, caregivers and professionals attended workshops Friday, June 15, for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
El Paso County Department of Human Services, Silver Key and others from the Pikes Peak Elder Abuse Coalition (PPEAC) hosted the day of workshops focused on teaching seniors and their caregivers about recognizing abuse and mistreatment, taking preventative measures, and other topics of interest.
June 15th has been designated as World Elder Abuse Prevention Day to shine a light on the problems of physical, emotional, and financial abuse of elders. In 2017, there were 3,115 reports to El Paso County Adult Protective Services and 3,645 call screens to Colorado Springs Police Department. The Board of El Paso County Commissioners approved a Proclamation in early June to highlight prevention efforts.
Silver Key Senior Services staff work at a table of resources during a day of workshops for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.
The Colorado Department of Human Services monitors certain data points for all counties, and El Paso County exceeds state requirements in all categories involving adults, and has achieved such excellent results each month of the past year: APS Timeliness of Initial Response to New Reports; APS Timeliness of Initial Assessments; APS Timeliness of Investigations; APS Timeliness of Monthly Contacts; and APS Percent of Cases with Safety Improvement.
The PPEAC is a collaboration among agencies, nonprofits and businesses. Members are proactive in finding ways to assist elders who may be abused, neglected or exploited, including setting up an emergency elder shelter program. More information about the coalition can be found at https://humanservices.elpasoco.com/adult-elder-abuse-prevention/.
Seniors, caregivers and professionals listen as Colorado Springs Police Det. Charles Szatkowski presents Friday, June 15, for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at Silver Key Senior Services.