1.  I have not known anyone that I know of who has suffered elder abuse or a crime against them as an elder. I have known an elder who abused drugs and alcohol and ended up dying alone and not being discovered for days. Being older, crankier, and an addict tends to push people away. In this case, many people tried to help over the years until it just became impossible. Resources or not, I do not know that anyone could have done anything differently other than the addict himself.

I used to do medical billing and I would have to call people for their past-due bills. Some of them would tell me they got $800.00 a month from social security and they did not even know how they were going to eat for the rest of the month let alone pay a medical bill. I think it is a crime to garnish these people’s bank accounts who can barely pay rent and eat. If it was not for them, we would not be here. We need to honor our elders and take better care of them as a society. We literally pay into social security our entire working lives, with the idea that we are investing in our future well-being and those who are currently receiving social security however, it is not enough alone as many elders are not doing that well.

A lack of money is not the only problem, some people are on social security and have other assets but they have caretakers who take advantage of them. I believe we need to make sure they are being protected financially. 

“Financial or Property Exploitation means illegal or improper use of an elderly or adult with a disability’s money, property, or other resources for monetary or personal benefit, profit or gain. This includes, but is not limited to, theft, misappropriation, concealment, misuse or fraudulent deprivation of money or property belonging to the elderly or adult with a disability” (Civil Financial Exploitation, (2022).

How do you think we can protect our elder’s assets and prevent them from being taken advantage of by caretakers but also acknowledge that it costs money to take care of them?

2.  There once was a lady that was known to some people in my neighborhood that had care giver come to her house daily and mistreat the women. this women would do things to this lady because she figured that she didnt have family close by that they could do what ever to the lady. the lady was all alone so she tolerated anything the caregiver did to her always. how things get handled in my neighborhood isnt correct but that care giver got her comeuppins and never looked back to  work with that lady again. The proper way to handle the situation would of been to call the cops as elder abuse is considered a felony. edler abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual , social, or financial. to report this type of abuse in nyc you can call 311 and they will get you to either the nys adult protective service line to take the proper steps to get the person under arrest.