Attorney Leads Effort to Educate Minnesota About Elder Abuse

A once-small group that Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo started to confront elder abuse is about to unleash an arsenal of resources to help educate Minnesotans about the problem.

With nearly $50,000 in donations, Minnesota SAFE Elders has created a tool kit that includes a video and training materials that it will provide free to interested groups; it is expected out next month.

The group also developed an app for first responders to guide them through such cases and a community resource list they can immediately offer to victims.Another piece of the initiative is a “prosecutor’s trial notebook,” a collection of abuse cases that attorneys can use as a reference when developing their own cases.

A statewide help number and website also will be available.Minnesota SAFE Elders, which grew out of the group that first met in 2011, now includes county attorneys and others from across the state.

The SAFE stands for Stop Abuse and Financial Exploitation.While the topic of crimes and neglect against seniors has been examined by various groups over the years, Palumbo is excited because this program can systemically reach a statewide audience with practical information that will increase awareness while putting more perpetrators in jail.

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Anoka County Attorney Leads Effort to Educate Minnesota About Elder Abuse