4th ANNUAL FRANKLIN COUNTY WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY INVITATIONAL EVENT SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 17TH

Posted on 6/16/2016

Defendant: Event

“Although oftentimes extremely difficult to detect, elder abuse is a preventable problem that unfortunately spans across every race, gender, and socioeconomic class in our country”, said Prosecutor Ron O’Brien.  World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations.  Local community leaders will meet with law enforcement, social services professionals, victim advocates, and court personnel on June 17th at the 4th Annual Franklin County World Elder Abuse Awareness Day invitational event at the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA), 3776 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43207 from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM.  The event reflects collaborative efforts to address and deal with crimes affecting Franklin County’s elderly population including both financial exploitation and physical abuse.  Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office views this event, and others like it, to be an important opportunity to bring a multi-disciplinary approach to dealing with the many issues affecting the community’s elderly and disabled population, while also offering a discussion on how to bring innovative solutions to these issues.  This year’s presenters include the Honorable Patricia Banks, presiding judge over the Elder Law Division of the Chicago Circuit Court and the Honorable Judge Dan Hawkins of the Franklin County Environmental Court.

 The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2014, 10.9% of Franklin County’s residents were over the age of 65.   COAAA, Franklin County Office on Aging, Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office, and other community leaders all recognize that not only are many of those citizens presently affected by these issues, but that a significant part of our community will continue to face the exploitation, abuse, and neglect of the elderly in the future if we do not educate the public on how to recognize, report, and prevent the elder abuse from occurring.