Miles McNeeley Weighs In on Best Approaches to Address Elder Abuse

With at least 10% of adults aged 65 and older experiencing some form of elder abuse in a given year, the number is only expected to grow as the baby boom generation grays and life expectancy increases.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) calls attention to that fact, and Miles McNeely, LCSW, Director of Elder Abuse Prevention at WISE & Healthy Aging, laid out some steps to be taken to help address the issue at the Bet Tzedek’s 3rd Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event on June 15.

During Miles' presentation, he addressed the different types of abuse: emotional, psychological, financial, physical, sexual or by neglect, explaining that each type of abuse required a different intervention depending on the relationship of the individual to their abuser.

“When thinking about financial abuse, [for example] the circumstances and needs may vary greatly depending on whether the relationship is intimate such as a son stealing cash from his mom’s wallet or if it’s romance fraud, with the victim wiring his life savings to the ‘love of his life’,” Miles explained. He stressed that different forms of abuse often overlap and that the social worker advocate’s response to reports of abuse must be focused on the person, with respect for their dignity and situation.

Among the interventions Miles proposed, was the Holistic Elder Abuse Response Team or HEART, which was created by Molly Davies, Executive Vice President of WISE & Healthy Aging to provide case management, therapy, legal system advocacy, and emergency funds to survivors of elder abuse in the community and facility settings.

For more information about the HEART program at WISE and Healthy Aging, please contact HEART at (310) 394-9871, ext. 350 or email HEART@wiseandhealthyaging.org.