The TCA never solicits funds from members
(WHO) defines ageism as a combination of stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel), and discrimination (how we act) directed toward people on the basis of their age.
What to do if you think you are being abused
Leave the situation if you are in immediate danger
Go to a safe place, such as with a neighbour, friend or relative. Go into a business or when calling a helpline ask to be taken to a shelter. If you are unable to leave your home, call 911 immediately.
Confide in someone you trust and tell them about what is happening
This could be a friend or family member, public health nurse, social worker, home care worker, someone at your place of worship, or a doctor.
Keep a record
Write down what is happening to you and keep a daily record. This will help you to document the abuse and help others assist you if you need it.
Take legal action
All forms of abuse are wrong. Some forms are illegal. You may want to think about a court protection order that would stop the abusive person from having contact with you. Your local police service or a police-based victim services unit can give you information.
Don’t blame yourself
No one deserves to be abused, it is not your fault and help is available. Many groups in your community want to help you protect your rights, safety and dignity.
IN CRISIS? Call (416) 929-5200.
Gerstein Crisis Centre services include 24/7 telephone support, in-person mobile crisis team, community support referrals, substance use crisis management, follow-up and access to short-term crisis beds.
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY
to end elder abuse. Future Us is a pan-Canadian engagement strategy that has been developed for people of all ages. The roadmap is for citizens, advocates, professionals and leaders in communities and governments to help us work from different parts of society on a shared project to prevent violence and abuse of older people in their homes and communities. Our future is up to us.
Future Us is not intended to speak for peoples or communities. It is a dynamic document meant to spark and advance a national dialogue on elder abuse in Canada.
Our aim is for this engagement strategy to grow and evolve, as local communities adopt it and governments recognize the urgent need to align investments and focus on prevention.
Future Us is for individuals in any community who have concerns about the current state of the health and well-being of older people. It is our hope that we can work together from very different places to achieve a common goal of elder abuse prevention across the country. In working together for the future of us, may we also find healing in the action to sustain us on the journey.
Challenging Ageism: 5 Strategies To Shift Your Own Negative Attitudes
REDUCING AGEISM BEGINS BY EXAMINING OUR OWN BIASES AND CATCHING OURSELVES WHEN WE MAKE AGEIST COMMENTS.
Here are some ways we can change society’s negative attitudes towards aging:
1. Challenge our ageist self-talk
A first step is to become aware of our internalized ageist messages and work to overcome them. Kathleen McInnis-Dittrich of the Boston College Graduate School of Work explains that these attitudes often begin in childhood when parents make subtle comments such as “I hope I don’t become forgetful like grandma” or “I don’t have as much energy as I used to, I must be getting old.” Such comments plant the seeds that aging is a time of deterioration. It gets reinforced as we age and use ageist expressions such as “I’m having a senior moment” when we forget things. This popular term contributes to the negative stereotypes of older adults. Reducing ageism begins by examining our own biases and catching ourselves when we make ageist comments.
Elder abuse & neglect
“Elder abuse and neglect should be identified as abuses of human rights.”
(Canada’s Association for the Fifty-Plus (CARP))
Many individuals and organizations provided comment on the issue of elder abuse. The submissions emphasized that elder abuse is a human rights issue requiring an effective response by government and by communities throughout Ontario. The Commission heard that any action concerning elder abuse, whether by government, community organizations or by individual caregivers, must be grounded in a respect for the dignity, independence, full participation and the security of older persons. The following pages provide an overview of the comments offered to the Commission throughout the consultation process.
How you can help seniors avoid becoming victims of fraud
Financial fraud is a problem that affects millions of Canadians every year, with older Canadians increasingly becoming the target of potential fraudsters.
Many of the most common scams law enforcement officials are seeing today – including the so-called “grandparent scam” – are designed to specifically target seniors.
In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received fraud reports totaling $530 million in losses—nearly a 40 per cent increase from the 2021. According to the CAFC, last year alone, more than $9.2 million was reported lost to grandparent/emergency scams. At the same time, the CAFC estimates that only a small fraction of victims report these types of frauds due to embarrassment.
As fraudsters increasingly leverage new technologies and tactics to create more sophisticated scams, it’s important to have conversations with older friends and family members to help them better understand how to identify and avoid fraud.