You may remember when comic creator Stan Lee began creating some of our most beloved pop culture figures in the 1960s. Lee’s popularity only grew through the years as his creations expanded to television, movies and more. In late 2018, Lee passed away at the age of 95.
In his later years, Lee was under the care of his then manager. Recently, s former manager for false imprisonment, grand theft, and elder abuse for knowingly inflicting mental harm on Lee. Prosecutors allege that the former manager stole $250,000 and fraudulently held Lee captive. Should a jury find the ex-manager guilty on all counts, he could face 10 years in prison.
A global problem
Sadly, you don’t need to be a celebrity for you or a loved one to become a victim of elder abuse. In fact, the World Health Organization says that 1-in-6 people worldwide over 60 years old experienced some form of elder abuse between 2017 and 2018.
Forms of elder abuse include psychological abuse, physical abuse, and financial abuse. These acts of abuse are often perpetrating by someone close to the elder, such as another family member or a staff member in a residential facility.
Preventing elder abuse
You can make sure that your loved one is well-protected from elder abuse as possible. A few strategies for preventing elder abuse include:
- Be picky with caregivers. You’ll want to pay attention to how a potential caregiver treats your parent or grandparent, as well take the time to interact with them to pick up on any potential red flags. Any change in behavior from your loved one after hiring a caregiver could be a sign of elder abuse
- Keep your loved one involved with their finances. If your parent or grandparent is no longer mentally competent enough to manage their own finances, this could be difficult. Yet, it’s important for your loved one to know what’s going on with their money in case cash, credit cards, or check books go missing.
- Listen to your parent or grandparent’s concerns. A sure sign that someone is mistreating your loved one is them telling you that someone is somehow harming them. It could be easy to dismiss this, but you should take any allegations of abuse against another person seriously.
It is our duty to care for our parents and grandparents as they did for us when they no longer can. Sometimes, we must turn to outside help when we are no longer qualified to provide that care but that means that we must ensure they’re not mistreated by those trusted with their care.
