Raising Awareness of Abuse of Older Persons An Issue for Faith Communities?

Churches can play a critical role in the prevention of elder abuse and neglect by fostering heightened public awareness of elder mistreatment, as well as providing services to families and others at risk for perpetrating abuse. This paper describes a pilot government- funded project to raise awareness of elder abuse in faith communities. The project seeks to support the faith community in its efforts to prevent and address elder abuse. The objectives are based on a needs assessment of faith leaders that emerged from a study that found that two-thirds of the 49 clergy interviewed knew of or suspected elder abuse among their parishioners. To achieve the goal of supporting faith communities in the identification and prevention of elder abuse, the project will develop and disseminate information and materials that will meet the identified needs of faith leaders, diverse faith and ethno cultural group, and congregants. Using a collaborative, community development approach, this project aims to educate and mobilize faith communities so that its members can address elder abuse in an effective partnership with existing health and social service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]