Senior Citizen Abuse

This was the third time her apartment had been broken into. She had called the police, but they, after hearing her complain for the third time, had little or no sympathy for her, and dismissed her as being crazy. Her ID had been stolen, and various important papers with her bank account numbers were also gone. It seemed no one cared. Several months prior to her experiences, her upstairs neighbor had been murdered. No suspect was ever discovered.

  These and other atrocities confront the senior population in our country on a daily basis. Everything from scams to robberies, to rapes and murders are their lot. The general population find no interest in those matters, and most of the time shrug senior pleas off because they are constant.

 Senior citizens are the target for many groups. Because they are many times alone, vulnerable, and helpless, gangs and other malicious groups take advantage of them. Law enforcement agencies are often plagued with complaints, which when investigated have little evidence to merit a legal court hearing. Those who perpetrate against the seniors are masterminds. They leave behind little evidence. Many of them are professional locksmiths, who are able to get in and out of apartments quickly without any detection. There are also scammers, whose schemes to deceive seniors have proven 80-90 percent successful.

Senior citizens are prey for sexual assaults. Because many of them live alone and do not have relatives nearby, sexual predators assess their situation by watching the pattern of the elderly. After several weeks of watching, they attack, and usually are able to get what they want, and sometimes the victims are killed.

You would think senior housing complexes are a safe place for seniors to reside. This is not always the case. These housing units are often targets for thefts, and break-ins. As in the case of my friend, she moved into a new senior housing unit, and has had her car broken into several times. It was only when she began to realize that she had to assist and protect herself that many things stopped. She bought door alarms and complained to the management. She also was able to put a powdery substance on her floor to identify the footprints of anyone entering her door.

Senior abuse is not limited to housing units. Children, grandchildren, and relatives of the elderly also have been known to inflict abuse. Many are slapped, beaten, and robbed of their monthly checks. Often the family members, especially those who are drug addicted, think nothing of making their elderly relative believe that they will be killed if they do not have a certain amount of money. In an effort to save the life of their son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild, the senior person will give them the specified amount of money they ask for. This is called running a guilt trip on them.

I know of so many sad stories of this kind of abuse. I think the worse one was told to me by a friend who was working for a man whose mother was terminally ill. My friend was told not to feed her, only to give her the prescribed medicine of the doctor. My friend, who loved people, somehow sneaked in a little liquid nutrition, and gave it to the dying woman. The son, who was anxious to see his mother die, wondered why his mother was doing so well. He asked my friend if she had been feeding his mother, and she told him that she had. There was little remorse on the son's part. He had already removed all of the furniture from her home except for her hospital bed. He was clearing out everything and trying to get her house up for sale. Other like stories are repeatedly told. That is why so many elderly people, while they are deemed sane, write out living wills and testaments. They desire to be treated with dignity and humaneness when they grow feeble.

Senior citizens must stay in contact with those who can help. They must not feel ashamed of asking for help and making complaints. It is their right. When they feel isolated or are called "crazy" for their efforts of being heard, someone must listen. They are to be thought correct unitl they are proven wrong. Family members and friends must advocate for them. When this is impossible, church members, neighbors, and others who care can be sought. Just as we care for tiny babies who cannot fend for themselves, we must be vigilant to care for those who have been there for us when we were helpless. It is our duty.