Groups awarded for elder abuse prevention

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 16, 2015) — Two community groups have received awards from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) to help their efforts to stop elder abuse.

Kentucky River Council Against the Maltreatment of Elders (CAME) received a Public Awareness Initiative award for $400 and Big Sandy Elder Abuse Council was awarded $250.

CAME and Big Sandy are two of the state’s network of 24 Local Coordinating Councils on Elder Abuse (LCCEAs), which covers 93 counties. The councils provide focused education to their communities to protect the elder population from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

CAME operates in Breathitt, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Owsley, Perry and Wolfe counties. In the past year, CAME has hosted a Senior Safety and Advocacy Day, sponsored a children’s poster contest and launched its annual prevention campaign, which included council representatives’ visits to area senior centers.

The Big Sandy Council includes Floyd, Johnson, Martin, Magoffin and Pike counties. Its work over the past year includes providing fans, brochures, posters and children’s coloring books with a prevention message to churches, businesses, health fairs and other events.

Big Sandy partnered with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD) for a Domestic Violence/Elder Abuse Awareness conference in October, and about 130 people attended. The theme of the meeting was that domestic violence has no age limit. Proceeds from a silent auction at the conference went to the Big Sandy council and AppalReD.

Kentucky received nearly 24,000 calls to report abuse, neglect and exploitation of people age 60 and older for state fiscal year 2014.

In Kentucky, reporting suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation is the law, and it’s confidential. The toll-free reporting hotline is 1-877-KYSAFE1 (1-877-597-2331).

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Groups awarded for elder abuse prevention