Director’s Weekly Edition 10/8/16
We all need to be mindful of Elder Abuse
“Elder abuse is mistreatment of an older person that is committed by someone with
whom the older person has a relationship of trust such as a partner, family member,
friend or carer. Elder abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual
and can include mistreatment and neglect.”
A woman rang me last week seeking accommodation assistance for her and her
82-year-old father. Due to the complexity of their story, we decided it was best that she
and her father come in and see me.
It seems that the father, Italian by birth and with little English, either speaking or
reading comprehension, had been neglected and had become quite sick while living in
sub-standard private rental in Melbourne. Further, it seems that this may have been
due to intentional neglect on behalf of close family members. This was exacerbated by
the recent death of a brother and another sibling moving into an aged care facility, both
of whom played a role in caring for him.
Only recently, some of the father’s documents were stolen and the thief attempted to
assume the father’s identity (this matter is currently with the Police). Somewhere along
the line,