National Center on Elder Abuse
2008 Elder Justice Local Network Development
Mini-Grant Projects
Summary of Accomplishments1
(Alphabetical by State)

1. Northern Arizona Council of Governments, Area Agency on Aging (Prescott, AZ) is the lead agency for the newly developed Prevention of Elder Abuse Coalition (PEAC) which serves Yavapai County, a largely rural area in northern Arizona. The 82-member coalition has formed 10 committees: Gatekeeper Education, Speakers Bureau, Community Resources, Legislative, Fund Development, Financial Abuse, Multi-Disciplinary Team, Mental Health, Elder Abuse, and Media-Public Relations. During the grant period, the coalition developed a website and brochure, business cards, letterhead, and a PowerPoint presentation. The Financial Abuse Committee sponsored a presentation by the Arizona Corporation Commission on avoiding investment fraud; a training video was distributed to bank employees; and trainings were planned to educate residents of adult communities about fraud and forgery. The coalition had booths at a Senior Health Fair and a Springfest, and PEAC leaders were interviewed by a local newspaper and spoke on the radio about the new coalition.
2. DNA People’s Legal Services (Window Rock, AZ), a non-profit organization that provides free legal services and education on the Navajo Nation and surrounding counties in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, takes the lead role for the Diné Coalition for Elder Rights, Protection and Justice. With a slogan of “Don’t Ignore our Navajo Elders – D.I.N.E.,” the new, 19-member coalition created audio PSAs in both Navajo and English on elder abuse and on wills and Navajo transfer of property and distributed them to area radio stations. They also created posters about elder abuse for distribution in the Navajo communities, and a PowerPoint presentation was developed for educational purposes. Committees formed by the coalition include Advocacy, Multi-Disciplinary Teams, Public Awareness/Financial Exploitation, and Services.
3. Heritage Clinic and the Community Assistance Program for Seniors dba The Center for Aging Resources (Pasadena, CA) brought together 56 people to form the West San Gabriel Valley Elder Abuse Coalition (WSGV EAC). With a slogan of “Safety and self-determination for the elder,” the coalition formed 3 committees: Education and Awareness, Public Relations, and Legislative Involvement. They created presentations and flyers for outreach activities, and disseminated information about World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, to increase awareness in the community about elder abuse, especially among community entities that encounter, but do not primarily serve, older adults. Their activities also increased linkage of community entities that encounter older adults with local, elder abuse-related services.
4. Coastal Georgia RDC Area Agency on Aging (Brunswick, GA), which serves the 9-county region along Georgia’s Atlantic seaboard, is the lead agency for the Coastal Alliance for the Protection of Elders (CAPE). The new coalition, with 30 members who meet monthly, established 4 committees: Public Awareness, Issues Advocacy, Professional Education, and Fundraising. During the grant period, CAPE developed a website and brochure, T-shirts and flyers, and a CAPE logo. The coalition held a major event to kick off the coalition and to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Members appeared on local internet and radio newscasts to talk about elder abuse, CAPE, and their upcoming Shred-a-Thon. A lead member of the coalition became an adjunct professor for the Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to teach law enforcement personnel about elder abuse.
5. Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. (Lynn, MA) led the effort to establish the 90-member Elder Justice Network (EJN) of the Greater North Shore. Their slogan is “Every person deserves to live free from harm.” The coalition’s 5 committees include Membership and Networking, Resource Inventory, Communications and Public Relations, Development and Fundraising, and Measurements and Outcomes. The coalition developed a PowerPoint program for presentations to professional and community groups, and conducted a training session to increase awareness of elder abuse and neglect issues and explore strategies for preventing abuse. They also developed a card with information and contacts for elders and created a brochure about the coalition for membership development.
6. Area Agency on Aging 1-B (Southfield, MI), which serves the aging network in six southeast Michigan counties, led the formation of the SAVE Task Force (Serving Adults who are Vulnerable and/or Elderly). The coalition’s 35 members created 6 committees: Publications, International Day of Awareness, Speakers Bureau, Bank Reporting Project, Links with Contractors, and Procedures. Materials developed include an elder abuse brochure and booklet, a survey to identify issues of concern, presentations, press releases, and a fact sheet about elder abuse. The new coalition planned and conducted a Walk through downtown Howell, MI to bring awareness of elder abuse to the community, with resource materials, a mini-self defense class, and participation by the Sheriff and mounted police. The coalition also provided educational presentations about elder abuse; distributed brochures and booklets to senior centers, senior service agencies, and at county events; and the co-chair of SAVE Task Force was interviewed on the radio about elder abuse.
7. Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California (Gardnerville, NV) takes the lead role for the newly developed coalition, called Communities Protecting Vulnerable Adults (CPVA). With a slogan of “Recognize, Report, and React to Adult Abuse – 3Rs,” the coalition formed 5 committees during the grant period: Research, Multi-Disciplinary Team, Elder Contact, Community Relations, and Advocacy. The 25-member coalition created a press release, established a Yahoo discussion site, and developed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Washoe Tribe and the Douglas County SAFE Program. CPVA’s Elder Panel created a culturally appropriate protocol for responding to allegations of elder abuse. The coalition also established an Elder Justice Workgroup to train employees about the signs of elder abuse, and a Yahoo group to promote discussion about elder abuse.
8. Indochina Sino-American Community Center (New York, NY) serves the needs of a unique, special population of first-generation-in-the-U.S. Chinese elders. The Center took the lead in forming a 20-member coalition, called Chinese Americans Restoring Elders (CARE). The coalition developed brochures and flyers in Chinese and English, as well as T-shirts for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. In a population where elder abuse is a taboo topic and is seldom reported, the coalition conducted 50 educational workshops to more than 1,000 Chinese seniors. They conducted anonymous, voluntary surveys after each workshop to explore possible instances of elder abuse, and some individuals have come forward as a result of this effort. The coalition used mass media to encourage the public to contact the Community Center for matters related to elder abuse; provided some individual counseling sessions; and conducted a press conference and distributed brochures and flyers in Chinatown to commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
9. West Central Human Service Center, Aging Services Unit (Bismarck, ND) serves the older adult population in the 10-county, mostly rural catchment area of North Dakota. Their service area includes the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Center serves as the lead agency for the West Central Vulnerable Adult Coalition (WCVAC). The 53-member coalition’s slogan is: "Prevent Abuse of Vulnerable and Elderly - P.A.V.E.” Materials developed during the grant period include a brochure, information cards, and promotional materials, including mugs, magnets, balloons and candy bar wrappers. The coalition’s kick-off event, a Shred-a-Thon, was well attended and received significant media coverage, both on TV and in the newspaper. The WCVAC also co-sponsored a training for coalition members and agency staff on “Surrogate Decision Making”; finalized plans for a “Fraud and Abuse of the Vulnerable and Elderly” training with Bismarck Police Department; planned a booth for the “24th Annual Senior Wellness Sensation” event where 400-450 participants and agencies were expected to attend; and six coalition members attended the Guardianship of ND Spring Training. The coalition also started the process of forming a second coalition on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation.
10. New River Valley Agency on Aging (Pulaski, VA) is the lead agency for the 83-member New River Valley Saving Our Adult Population (NRV SOAP) coalition. Seven committees were formed: Education and Outreach; Advocacy and Legislation; Membership; Speakers Bureau; Research and Best Practices; Publications, Printed Materials, Pamphlets and Brochures; and an Adult Multi-Disciplinary Response Team. The coalition created PowerPoint presentations for use in community presentations and trainings. Newspaper articles were also written and submitted to increase awareness of the new coalition. Also during the grant period, the coalition hosted a luncheon/training to strengthen elder justice efforts; participated in Domestic Violence in Later Life Task Force meetings; and provided elder abuse training to 14 home health care providers in partnership with the Women’s Resource Center.

1   The Elder Justice Community Collaborations project is administered by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse for the National Center on Elder Abuse and is supported in part by a grant (No. 90AM3145) from the Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Therefore, points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official Administration on Aging policy.