By Mary Keefe

Director, Community Relations, Huntington Common

Huntington Common, a Sunrise Senior Living Community in Kennebunk, hosted a conference for elder advocates throughout York County April 9. More than 60 professionals present, representing a diverse cross section of expertise including law enforcement and public safety, health care professionals, long-term care and assisted living administrators, elder advocates, domestic violence victim advocates, caseworkers/managers, care coordinators, prosecutors, public and private attorneys, social workers, financial institutions, volunteers and others.  

The focus was elder abuse and exploitation in our state. Attorney General Steven Rowe opened the meeting with compelling statistics. He defined “elders” as people 65 and older, of which there are around 185,000 in Maine, or more than 14 percent of our state’s population. He said 60 percent of our elders are women and 30 percent of our elders live alone, and three out of four living alone are women.  Maine also has a much higher percentage of elders living in rural areas, as compared to 22 percent nationally.

According to Rowe, Maine’s elder population is growing faster than most states. Since 1980, the 65 and older population has grown 23 percent. At present, 14 percent of our population is 65 and older and by the year 2020 that number will be 20 percent. Our elder population will grow from 185,000 today to more than 270,000. We all look forward to growing old – we all look forward to living out our retirement in good health and in good spirits, in prosperity and without fear. None of us wants to be isolated, abused, neglected or exploited. Nor do we want others to be. When one of us is abused, we are all abused.

Ricker Hamilton, regional manager of Adult Protective Services at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services opened his comments with “this is an ugly subject.”   

Elder abuse comes in many forms – physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional and verbal abuse, neglect, threats, financial exploitation and invasion of privacy.

Hamilton added that sadly, in the vast majority of cases, the perpetrator is a family member or caregiver of the victim. Consider that a 1998 study by the National Center on Elder Abuse found that 47 percent of abusers are adult children, 19 percent are spouses, and another 17 percent are grandchildren and other relatives. This means that only about 16 percent of elder abusers are unrelated to their victims.

Because family members are the primary abusers, domestic violence involving elder abuse is far too often considered a “family matter” and is not treated like the serious crime it is. Nationally, elder abuse and exploitation has not received the attention it demands. We are only slowly defining the scope of the problem in our nation, and unraveling the complexity of this societal problem. Often, only the worst abuse and neglect cases are reported to, or discovered by, the authorities.

Elder financial abuse is a crime of opportunity and it’s on the rise. Officials said 70 percent of the nation’s net worth is owned by those ages 50 or older. This makes seniors a rich target – and 40 percent of all reported elder abuse cases involve financial exploitation.

Fraud is a unique type of theft – because to be successful, the victim has to agree to participate.  Although seniors comprise about 12 percent of our national population, they comprise 35 percent of all fraud victims. Seniors are targets of fraud because they have a high incidence of health problems, many live alone, and many seniors are trusting and don’t expect others to lie to them. Seniors also have quick access to assets and are less likely to report than others. A sad statistic is that victims of financial exploitation and abuse are three times more likely to die in the next decade than those in the same age group who are not victims.

Whether it’s physical abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, Detective Seth Blodgett from the Office of the Maine Attorney General said we must start treating these incidents as crimes. Although civil remedies are often an effective way of dealing with financial exploitation, the consideration of criminal prosecution is also important. Many times, the victim will have signed financial documents such as checks, property transfers, etc. If the victim didn’t understand what they were signing, it doesn’t make it any less a crime. Just because someone has appointed a loved one his or her agent in a power of attorney doesn’t give that agent a license to steal.

Betsy Cantrell, AARP Senior Advocate Volunteer for the past 10 years in Maine appealed for a call to action. There will be an Elder Abuse Task Force meeting from 1 to 2 p.m. on April 28 at Huntington Common. The goal is to explore opportunities for developing community based volunteer groups to disseminate information throughout York County to help seniors at risk. For more information or to RSVP, contact Mary Keefe, by calling 207-985-2810 or email huntingtoncommon.dcr2@sunriseseniorliving.com.

To make a report of abuse or neglect of a senior, call Adult Protective Services in Maine at 1-800-963-9490 or nationwide at 1-800-624-8404 or TTY (during business hours) 1-800-624-8404.