Elder Abuse Shelter First in State, One of Few in U.S

By some estimates, as many as 90,000 older adults in Michigan may be victims of elder abuse, though the crimes often go unreported. (Photo via Shutterstock)

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What is believed to be Michigan’s first shelter program for senior citizens who are abused or victimized was announced Monday by the Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit.

The program, which is offering apartments at Jewish Senior Life’s West Bloomfield and Oak Park campuses, is a response to National Center on Elder Abuse statistics that show one in 24 older adults are victims of abuse, according to reports by WWJ/CBS Detroit, The Daily Tribune and the Detroit Free Press.

“Elder abuse can happen to anyone,” Matt Lester, Jewish Senior Life board president, said at a news conference announcing the program Monday, according to The Daily Tribune. “It can happen to anyone.

It’s unclear exactly how many seniors in Michigan are victims of elder abuse, but the number may be as high as 90,000 older adults in Michigan, Barbra Giles, associate director at Jewish Senior Life, told WWJ. Many of the incidents go unreported.

One study by the National Center on Elder Abuse found that nine of 10 abusers are family members. Fear that a family member might go to prison is one reason for the under-reporting. Loss of independence is another.

“When the (grown) child’s telling you, ‘I‘m going to put you in the home,’ that’s a real threat to people,” Trish Gerard, who heads the Elder Abuse unit of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, told the Free Press.

Elder abuse victims are profiled, much as child abuse victims are, and are seen as “weaker, better victims – an easy mark,” Gerard said.

Last year, the prosecutor’s office handled more than 200 cases of crimes against seniors, including 19 homicides and 113 assaults.

Julie Schoen, deputy director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, part of the U.S. Administration on Aging, said the programs in Oakland County are “on the cusp of what we’re seeing emerging” nationally, according to the Free Press.

The Jewish Senior Life program offers 90 days of cost-free living at a furnished apartment. The program is one of about a dozen like it in the nation, officials said.

Seniors ages 60 and older may apply, regardless of their faiths and beliefs. They need not live in Oakland County. During their stay, they will be connected to social workers and services. Those in need of assistance should call (248) 661-0123.

“We have independent living availability, assisted living availability, and we’ve partnered with the Danto Family Health Care Center to offer skilled nursing care to individuals who are victims who might require that level of care,” Giles said.

Kari Sederburg, executive director forAging and Adult Services Agency within the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, told the Free Press the program “is really exciting,” offering an option for seniors that goes beyond short-term respite that might routinely be available at a traditional emergency shelter or a hospital, which is sometimes the only option.

Those services may not accept men, and the uncertainty of each day and chaos sometimes found in emergency shelters may only increase the victim’s trauma, Sederburg said.

Giles said providing shelter services aligns with the mission of her office, which collaborated with New York-based SPRiNG Alliance, which is building a network of such shelters or housing units across the U.S.