In the upcoming months, the NCEA is embarking on a campaign to encourage dynamic involvement from not only the aging services and affiliated networks, but also from the public at large to recognize elder abuse as a widespread societal issue and to take action in preventing it. The coming months provide unprecedented opportunities for you, your organization, and your community to focus attention on elder abuse and to Join Us in the Fight Against Elder Abuse. These opportunities include:

• Older Americans’ Month in May
• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, designated as June 15th each year.
• May 22 - June 18, 2009 - A 15-second elder abuse information piece featuring actor William Mapother will run before movie trailers in theaters throughout many U.S. major metropolitan areas. This is the first time that one unified message regarding elder mistreatment will be echoed throughout the country. (Click here to view a listing of the movie theaters showing the NCEA Elder Abuse Information Piece.)

Each event is significant. Together they converge to provide an unprecedented opportunity to engage public attention, enlist public support, and generate activity and involvement at a grassroots level. To maximize this opportunity, the NCEA has launched the “Join Us in the Fight Against Elder Abuse” campaign - the first national effort to raise awareness of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

The NCEA is aggressively enlisting action to find ways communities and individuals can affect long-lasting changes in the lives of vulnerable seniors. The NCEA urges you to “Join Us” by sponsoring and participating in public awareness events and other simple but effective activities to promote prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. To support this effort, NCEA created the following tools to help you, your family, or your organization make a difference in the lives of vulnerable elders. In addition, please browse our Publications Section for more reports, fact sheets, and information.

Tip Sheets for Involvement and Prevention:

• Join Us – How Your Organization Can Generate Awareness & Foster Action in the Fight Against Elder Abuse
  
• Join Us - How You Can Help in the Fight Against Elder Abuse – suggestions for individuals of all ages

Fact Sheets:

• Why Should I Care About Elder Abuse? – General
• Why Should I Care About Elder Abuse? – State Template Fact Sheet with Instructions – for customizing with state-specific information
• How to Answer Those Tough Questions about Elder Abuse – suggestions for responding to inquiries from the public
• About the National Center on Elder Abuse - an overview of the NCEA and its current priority activity areas

National Elder Abuse Awareness Public Service Announcement Series:

To view the National Elder Abuse Awareness Public Service Announcement Series, visit the “Latest Downloads” box of the NCEA home page.

The NCEA would like to thank the State of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services for co-producing the Elder Abuse Awareness PSA series, which was executively produced by Kimberly Baker, formerly of the Cabinet, and filmed and edited by Bruce Johnson and his production team at Eastern Kentucky University. NCEA would also like to thank Mr. Mapother for his generous and invaluable contribution to this effort.

Share Your Ideas:

Would you like to share an idea to help raise awareness about elder abuse? Email your suggestions to the NCEA.

Share Your Stories:

Would you like to share your story? WITNESS and the National Council on Aging are working together to empower elders who have experienced abuse to share their stories using video. For more information or to participate, visit the WITNESS web site.

Together, we have the power to prevent elder abuse.