Elder Abuse on First Nations
Elder abuse usually takes place when the elder is in-coherent and can't do much for themselves and need someone to take care of them. They are usually neglected by their families or some do not have family, so they befriend anyone that pays attention to him or her because of loneliness. Many of the elders in First Nation communities want to remain in their homes and don't like to leave their community. In many cases they become frail and suffer from disease and family members have to make a choice to have them put in an old age home off the reserve. Many First Nation now have their own Elders Homes in their communities so that the elders don't have to leave many of their friends and family members.
In many cases elders face abuse from members of family or workers. Alot of it is not physical but financial. The core element to harm an elder is the "expectation of trust", of the older person towards their abuser. It includes harms by people the older person knows or with whom they have a relationship, such as a spouse, partner or family member, a friend or neighbor, or people that the older person relies on for services.
On First Nations today, many of our elders are dying off. We need to respect them and listen to their stories because they are the only ones with the knowledge of our culture and language. On my First Nation of Garden River we do have elders programs. I am an elder myself and respect the other elders.
Meegwetch,
Arlene
Hi Arlene. That is really sad that elder abuse happened in pre-contact Aboriginal life and it is still happening today. It is also happening all over the world. I think it is wrong and people are not aware of it. I think that First Nations reserves need to get funding to have Elder programs, so these cases become less common. There is no excuse for elder abuse in any form and I hope that the world becomes more aware of this issue and programs are put into place to try and prevent it from happening.
ReplyDelete-Lyndsay
It always disgusts me to read about elder abuse because I believe we should be respecting them for everything they have done for us. It was interesting to read about the different abuses because I was unaware of the financial abuse. Do you know if there any any corporations, companies, or organizations that have put focus towards helping elders and the abuses they face?
ReplyDelete-Amy
I always have a hard time reading about elder abuse, whether it is physical, emotional, sexual, and/or finical. I think that it is absolutely horrible and couldn’t imagine having it happen to someone close to me. I find it so hard to understand why anyone would want to hurt someone so fragile, innocent and gentle. Abuse should not be happening in elderly homes and I believe that better monitoring should be established to ensure the safety of their residents at all times. Also, I personally think that all First Nation reserves should have an elderly home so that the residents can remain close to their family and friends, as well as stay connected to their culture.
ReplyDeleteKristen – Mental Illness Group
I agree with everyone's comment on this blog. It is horrible to think about an elderly adult being taken advantage because of the amount of trust many put into the people that claim they will do everything to help them. It is such a shame to think about how people in our society today have no respect for the elders that have created so many opportunities for us today. It is so unfair that older adults have become a target to people who know work to steal large amounts of finances. The inability older adults have to organize their banking creates opportunities for people to get a hold of important banking information. It is very sad that aging adults have the extra stress of becoming abused and taken advantaged of because their growing inabilities to do things on their own; resulting in seeking help from strangers or people they believe are trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteLindsay
Hi Arlene,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post, I was just reading Amy's comment and thought i would comment I know of the Ontario Network for the prevention of Elder abuse, an im pretty sure there many more.
As i was reading the article i thought about how we could help with the prevention of our older adults an saw these recommendations.
1) Educate yourself about the abuse of older adults and the rights of older adults.
2) Become involved in your local abuse of older adults Committee or Network and encourage the development of educational sessions for older adults on their rights.
3) Learn about the rights of seniors and explain these rights to older adults that you know Listen to older adults
4) take time when speaking to them about their current situation and offer suggestions regarding how they might keep themselves, and their assets, safe
5) Take an older friend out to lunch, visit them, call them to see how they are doing - in short, keep in touch older adult family members and friends
Hoda