The Local Office on Aging has brought together organizations and individuals throughout Roanoke Salem, Botetourt, Craig, Covington and Alleghany to create an Elder Justice Alliance. The Alliance will meet monthly to address elder abuse issues that are in danger of falling through the cracks.
One of their most significant initiatives is educating the public on Elder Abuse. Through vendor fairs, conferences and group presentations, the Alliance hopes to reach seniors and their caregivers to discuss the prevention of Elder Abuse, a sign of abuse and solutions for victims.
The Elder Justice Alliance, which formally launched in October, is a community-based team of organizations and individuals committed to using education, collaboration, and coordination of community resources and services to address abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of those age 60 or older. The vision of the Alliance is to:
– collaborate with other Alliance partners, and non-partners who contribute to the fulfillment of our mission; and
– educate, enhance, and utilize community-based resources and services to advance the protection of our elderly population from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, including financial and otherwise.
“Singularly, our team of agencies in the Alliance are limited in what they can do to assist a victim of elder abuse which often means the victim’s needs go unmet,” said LOA CEO Ron Boyd. “The formation of this Alliance provides a good foundation to completely meet the needs of an elder abuse victim in our service area.”
The Alliance is comprised of over 40 partners including Local Office on Aging, Departments of Social Services, Adult Protective Services, Elder Law Attorneys, Office of Attorney General, Law Enforcement, Commonwealth Attorneys, Blue Ridge Behavioral Health, Mental Health America, Family Service of Roanoke Valley, Alzheimer’s Association, Forensic Accounting, Health Care providers, Guardians and various other Human Services & Government Agencies.
-Submitted by Ron Boyd
