Crisis line aids seniors experiencing abuse or neglect
The Mobile Crisis Services phone rings. It’s 8:30 a.m.
The caller is an older adult male who is frantic because his wife won’t get in the car.
The crisis worker answering immediately goes into crisis resolution mode. She discovers the caller is the husband of a woman with dementia. The wife attends a day program, but today she refuses to get into the car and he has to get to an important appointment with his cardiologist.
Recognizing the situation’s immediacy, the crisis worker promises that someone will come immediately. Help arrives to find the couple waiting on the veranda. The wife willingly gets in the car; the husband makes arrangements to talk further with Crisis Services about the physical and emotional load he is shouldering alone.
The scenario above is authentic, says Rita Field, executive director of non-profit, community-based Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Centre. “The gentleman called back, we were able to refer him to services he could utilize, and when we checked in later, he was getting help. This situation turned out well, but it could very easily have gone sideways.”
The 24-hour phone line has been operating in Saskatoon since 1980, and longer in Regina and Prince Albert. It typically responds to dozens of complex and multi-faceted calls every day, including calls from or on behalf of older adults who are experiencing some form of abuse or neglect.
All calls come to a main line and after asking a few pertinent questions, the crisis worker is able to direct the call where it needs to go.
In cases concerning older adults, the crisis worker will determine if the caller is phoning about him or herself or someone they’re concerned about. If an immediate response is required, the caller may be advised to contact 9-1-1 since that service is able to pinpoint the person’s exact location. If the crisis is not critical, the crisis worker will ask questions to assess what is happening, why the caller is worried, and the type of help they need.
When it comes to calls involving older adults, Field says the Crisis Line gets more calls about neglect than about abuse.
“Often it’s someone else in the older adult’s world calling on the person’s behalf. Older adults experiencing abuse or neglect tend not to call on their own. They believe they must be at fault, they must be doing something wrong. The threat of losing the supports they have is greater than what’s happening to them.”
What constitutes senior or elder abuse or neglect? It can be medical, social, or emotional needs not being met. Sometimes the neglect is intentional, often not. Neglect may be due to lack of education on the part of the caregiver, or not understanding what the person requires.
“Financial abuse happens when a caregiver or someone else in the older adult’s orbit has a sense of entitlement regarding the senior’s resources,” Field says. “Maybe the abuser is dipping into the bank account, extorting money, or not paying their fair share of expenses. Police Services has a specific fraud section that investigates such things.”
Emotional abuse includes threatening the individual, verbally abusing or belittling them, making derisive remarks, putting them down, or deliberately ignoring their needs.
Physical abuse is generally perceived as rough treatment including unwelcome pushing and pinching.
Physical neglect occurs when necessities, including medication, are not provided. This isn’t always intentional, Field says. “It can creep up on a caregiver or family member. They think, ‘I just got you glasses,’ but when they check back, they realize it’s been five years and in meantime, the older adult has been gradually losing their eyesight.”
Another situation where abuse occurs is when seniors are taking care of seniors, a situation which inevitably moves beyond the caregiver’s capability. They become overwhelmed and frustrated, something that can lead to rough handling and physical abuse.
Crisis Services partners with police and other agencies to devise workable plans to reduce stress, improve quality of life, and bring a level of safety.
Rita Field applauds the government’s creation of ads showing examples of senior abuse and giving information for victims and people in positions to stop abuse and take action.
The Seniors Abuse and Neglect Response Line can be reached in Regina and area at 306-757-0127; in Prince Albert and area at 306-7641011; and in Saskatoon and area at 306-933-6200.