Resident of Monterey, CA, Urges Congress to Pass the Elder Justice Act

This resident of Monterey, California, is the youngest of five siblings and was her mother's caretaker after her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Experiencing times of financial trouble, she began paying her own bills using her mother's money. Ultimately, she was confronted by her sister and relinquished control of her mother's account to a qualified financial manager. She has since made the transition from an abuser to an elder rights advocate.

Her story is part of the Elder Justice Campaign, a national campaign to break the silence on elder abuse and pass the Elder Justice Act.

Abuse by a family member is a common story. According to a study conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute (http://www.metlife.com/mmi/?WT.mc_id=vu1243), families, friends, neighbors, and caregivers were involved as perpetrators of elder financial abuse 55% of the time.

This woman shares her story because there is a silent crisis that affects every community in America: Elder abuse. Each year, an estimated 5 million of America's older adults are beaten, ignored or financially exploited. Yet, as a country, we remain silent about this growing crisis.

To begin to address this problem, Congress has an immediate opportunity to pass federal legislation that will provide a foundation from which we can begin to protect our country's elders — the Elder Justice Act. But we cannot do this without your help. Please help us break the silence by adding your voice to the national campaign and urge Congress to pass the Elder Justice Act now!

To learn more about elder abuse and the Elder Justice Act and to take action: http://www.ElderJusticeNow.org

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• TX
• elder abuse
• elder justice act
• Elder Justice Now
• message
• ncoa
• witness
• financial exploitation
• older persons

[ictr2008]

Thank-you for your honesty and courage to face yourself and do the right thing. You can be a powerful advocate for good in this world--Advocating for our sweet , vunerable elderly population.