News Story (NATIONAL)
Zach Melvin
ALM
June 15, 2016
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Elder Abuse, Seniors
Organizations mentioned/involved: Equal Justice Works (DC)
DETAILS
lder abuse, defined as the physical or emotional abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult, is becoming an increasingly publicized issue. A 2015 White House case study reported that roughly 10 percent of people older than 60 are affected by elder abuse.
“People all have stories of an older person being exploited in one way or another,” says Equal Justice Works executive director David Stern. “One of the things that we can do, by having lawyers represent these people, is prevent the abuse from continuing.”
Stern likened the issue to the state of domestic violence just two decades ago. Cases, he said, were often brushed under the rug as private matters. It required extensive educational efforts and training initiatives to change how people and law enforcement reacted to the issue.