The finishing touches are being added to a coordinated community response to the serious issues surrounding elder abuse and it's now ready to be brought to the public eye.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is Thursday June 15 and Cochrane is holding its first local event at the Cochrane Legion to provide information, encourage discussion and create awareness. There's a free pancake breakfast followed by a presentation and awareness walk. Participants are encouraged to wear some purple, the colour used to signify support and awareness. They'll also be planting a lilac bush on the Legion grounds.

Since January 2016, Sharon Moore, Cochrane seniors project facilitator for elder abuse prevention, has been working on this complex issue with a determined steering committee. Together they have developed a community-driven, multi-faceted response to aid those impacted by elder abuse and believe it is a sustainable solution.

"We recognize because of the complexity of elder abuse that this has to be a community-supported project," Moore explains."It has to be the community responding, not just an agency. It has to be multiple agencies understanding how to respond to elder abuse."

Early in the position she realized that much had to be done before starting an awareness campaign.

"When I first started I provided one presentation in the community During that presentation there were 12 present and four of them came up to me afterwards to present an abuse care, their own personal abuse case. Right then I realized we can't start raising awareness until we're able to respond to people coming forward."

Now in their artillery is a steering committee involving nine agencies, including the RCMP and numerous seniors, social and health organizations, and a partnership with the Kerby Centre in Calgary for after hour support to provide 24-hour coverage. 

Key to the whole matter, though, was having a resource person available to help victims navigate the system and find the help they need. That piece just fell into place with funding obtained from Alberta Justice.

"We want to be able support them 100 per cent so this new position will be to answer that capacity and we feel we're ready by partnering with Kerby and multiple partners in the community. As a collective we will be able to respond and people will all be knowledgeable on how to respond."

They have also received a $25,000 grant from the federal New Horizons for Seniors program to fund their awareness program that includes the June 15 launch, offering further training and providing education through such programs as "It's Not Right."

"How do I deal with it? What do I do when I see that or what do I do to support that person? What do I do to support my friend if they come forward with a case? What do I do when I work with a senior and I see something but it's not my mandate to deal with it? Those are the questions we're going to be answering."

 Abuse takes many forms and includes financial, physical, mental, medical and even housing needs. It also rears its head in the workplace. Unfortunately, a third of the time the abuser is someone close to the senior and in many cases part of their family. That means the person abusing the victim is also relied upon to provide care and support. 

"Quite often that older adult doesn't want to report it because it involves a family member," Moore explains. "So if you're going to report your own family member it really creates that conflict and quite often the senior is very dependent on that family member. So the major of the cases in Alberta are not reported."

The likelihood of elder abuse will continue as those 65 and over make up more of our population. By 2031, it is estimated 25 per cent, over one million Albertans, will reach this age group and already seniors outnumber our population of children.

"It's very sad that we're at a stage where we have to look at the abuse that is happening with our seniors, but I think the one thing that is really exciting is Cochrane as a community is ready to deal with it."

Seating for the wareness day event is limited, so participants are asked to register by phoning 403-851-2250 or going here.