Many elderly people are at risk

by Ray Fernandez

Every year there are cries for more laws to protect against the epidemic of elder abuse running out of control in many cities across the USA and ust as many times the priorities of those lawmakers eclipse the needs of the elderly for protection against degradation,deprivation and looting during the years when they need it the most.

"There are many reasons that seniors don't report abuse," said State Rep. Jon Switalski, D-Warren. "Some are embarrassed or fear retaliation from their so-called care givers if they initiate complaints. Others simply don't know where to turn for help."

Seventy-three thousand elders in the state of Michigan alone are abused every year, according to estimates. No one knows for sure, because this crime is vastly unreported. It is a countrywide disgrace.

It's unfortunate but reports of elder abuse have increased 40 percent since and in a single year, 2008, state officials received more than 16,300 reports of mistreatment of adults in Michigan alone.

What makes controls even more difficult is the fact that a 2006 study reported that 54 percent of elder abuse cases involved members of the victim's family and family members are awarded the right to abuse their kin under a unspoken twisted agreement with authorities in which elder abuse and elder financial abuse are referred to as "Family Squabbles" by the authorities who look the other way and often ridicule or downplay the elder seeking help often pointing him/her towards long winded and costly prohibitive civil litigation.