When most of us hear the upsetting words elder abuse, we may first think of physical abuse but the local expert in this field says there is more to it than just physical abuse.
Michael Stayner works for Age Concern as the Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention/Intervention Co-ordinator, contracted through the Department of Child Youth and Family Services. He sees all types of elder abuse in our region, physical, mental, financial and sexual. Neglect is another major problem that Michael deals with. Neglect falls into different categories: self neglect, where people living alone are no longer able to properly care for themselves; active neglect, where a partner or caregiver actively withholds the necessities of life as a form of punishment or control; passive neglect, where a partner or carer doesn't realise they are not providing everything that person needs to ensure their quality of life and plain abandonment of an older person is another issue that Michael also faces often.
"People can be left all alone for a wide variety of reasons. It's Age Concern's role to try and ensure they have all they need to maintain a decent quality of life."
In his work, Michael networks with many other organisations from Police, support agencies to the District Health Board, Work and Income and more, mainly to facilitate help for the clients that comes his way.
Of all the different types of elder abuse Michael has to deal with, financial is the most common. "It is often a case of the children or other family members taking advantage of an older person. Perhaps using their Enduring Power of Attorney to empty bank accounts, sell houses and get their hands on assets that their older parent or family member is still in need of." When the profits from this are going straight to the children and not being used to provide on-going care and support for the parent or family member, that amounts to financial abuse," Michael says. "In many cases I see it simply amounts to people stealing from their family. The most common abusers are adult children in the 40-49 age groups, according to Age Concern statistics."
He says it is important for people to realise that help is here. "I have clients referred to me from many sources, other family members, friends, neighbours, health professionals and other support agencies. I can then work as an advocate for a client to help resolve the situation, be it financial, physical or mental and emotional abuse that has been taking place," Michael says.
On average Michael Stayner handles 7-10 cases of elder abuse and neglect each month throughout Nelson Tasman and Marlborough and says 90% of them involve financial matters. But the other cases involving physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse really take their toll on everyone involved. 'In cases where harm is being done to older people, we don't hesitate to get the police or other appropriate authorities involved and we also get the client involved to a safe environment as soon as possible. It really is heartbreaking that this kind of thing happens to older people in our supposedly civilised society. But it is important to be aware of it and be aware of the fact that help is available to stop the abuse," he says.
Educating people about elder abuse and the rights of older people is another important part of Michael's role and he spends quite a lot of time on that. He regularly speaks to senior citizens groups, support groups and at rest homes about peoples rights, legal issues, including enduring Powers of Attorney, advanced directive and living wills, and how to use the services that are available to help older people get the most out of life.
'The work we do at Age Concern Nelson is just part of what is available to people from our thirty two councils throughout New Zealand. We work alongside a number of other agencies so the important message people need to remember is “if you need help ask. There's plenty of help about, don't feel you have to suffer in silence."
If you feel that you or someone you know can benefit from Age Concerns intervention please contact Michael Stayner at Elder Abuse Co-ordinator at Age Concern Richmond, 62 Oxford Street or phone 544 7627.
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