Providers of elder abuse shelters to meet in Ohio

CINCINNATI — Pioneers in providing shelter for elder abuse victims are combining forces to expand efforts to give seniors an emergency refuge.

Eight such shelters have formed an alliance and will meet this week in suburban Cincinnati to share best practices and hear from experts on elder abuse, increasingly recognized as a problem for the aging U.S. population. It's estimated that at least 2 million older Americans are abused, exploited or neglected every year, with many more cases likely going undetected.

The model of giving older victims a safe place to get emergency health, counseling and legal help while they stay among peers in a senior community has worked well, said Joy Solomon, who helps lead the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention that opened in 2005 at New York City's Hebrew Home.

"People are coming into an already established community of older adults with professional care and where their dignity is primary," Solomon said. "Victims can begin to heal."

Solomon, a former Manhattan assistant prosecutor, said awareness of elder abuse appears to be growing as the nation's baby boomers head toward their 70s. The number of people in the U.S. age 70 or older is expected to more than double, to 64 million or about 16 percent of the population, by 2050. Elder abuse experts say most mistreatment is at the hands of family members or other people close to the victims, and that it's important for bank employees, neighbors and other people to be alert for indications of physical and mental abuse. Solomon has provided prevention training to such groups as New York City doormen and apartment workers.

"People are being forced to take note," Solomon said, adding, "There's a lot more work to be done."

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Providers of elder abuse shelters to meet in Ohio