Neighbor News
Dear Phil Ting, Please support our California budget request
Support budget for critical programs to help Californians with Alzheimer's
Dear California State Assembly Member Phil Ting,
This past year my uncle was diagnosed with early signs of dementia. Sadly, this escalated into an arrest by law enforcement officers after his symptoms were triggered by a robocall. In this day and age, robocalls are part of normal everyday life for most people. Robocalls are designed to scare you and just by interacting with the robocall, saying "hello," you can give away access to your personal information. This can be especially difficult for seniors who do not have as much experience dealing with bots or caller ID and landlines are especially susceptible to robocalls. This is why robocalls are strategically targeting senior citizens, the most vulnerable population, particularly during COVID-19. Upon receiving a robocall, like so many other seniors in this country, my uncle was convinced his personal information was in jeopardy and his life in danger. This led to intense episodes of fear, isolation, paranoia, agitation and confusion to such a severe degree that law enforcement became involved in order to calm my uncle down and allow him to feel safe. My uncle is a person of color living in a medically underserved community and working with law enforcement was challenging and complicated for him. Speaking with the cooperative and respectful police officers, my uncle was presenting symptoms of rambling, disorganized thinking and delusions. It was clear he was suffering with early signs of dementia and after taking him to a physician, he was properly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. What was also apparent was that the police officers wanted more specialized training on how to deal with Alzheimer's and dementia patients as their training to date is limited. This is why I am asking Phil Ting to support $796 million in this year's budget for critical programs to help Californians with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. This includes programs to educate high-risk populations about ways to reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's, help caregivers with the enormous costs of dementia care and provide training to law enforcement on how to interact with people with dementia.
On a larger scale, the number of Californians living with Alzheimer's is expected to more than double in the next 20 years, according to California's Department of Public Health. Financial fraud targeting older Americans is a growing epidemic that costs seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). This is likely an underestimation as seniors often do not report fraud because they are too ashamed to admit they have been scammed, may not even know that they are victims, or do not know how to report it. Out of financial desperation, COVID-19 has led to an increased number of scams and victims of scams as crooks take advantage of consumers' fears as the pandemic persists. To date, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reported nearly 725,000 consumer complaints related to COVID-19 and stimulus payments throughout the pandemic with 73% of them involving fraud or identity theft. Scammers are using the full suite of platforms— phishing emails, texts, social media posts, robocalls, imposter schemes, etc. These scammers can be especially tricky as they adapt their messages to new medical and economic issues featured in headlines.
With a projected budget surplus, our state has an opportunity to make crucial investments in the systems that serve our families and support the growing aging population. As Assembly Budget Committee chair, Ting can play a key role in California’s growing need for critical programs to help Californians with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, especially as we proceed into year two of the pandemic.
For more resources (PDF) on how to help seniors prevent and report fraud: https://www.leadingage.org/sit...
