Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet

Province provides funding to address elder abuse

Jun 15, 2021 | 10:35 AM

EDMONTON, AB – Organizations across Alberta are set to receive funding to help address elder abuse.

June 15 marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Seniors and Housing Minister for Alberta, Josephine Pon, said on Tuesday that the province is providing $750,000 to the Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council to support elder abuse prevention and intervention initiatives.

Roughly $650,000 of that funding will help coordinated community responses (CCRs) increase supports for seniors subjected to abuse. CCRs are multidisciplinary partnerships that can include a range of partners, like local governments, non-profits, businesses, health providers and police services.

The council will use the remaining funds to provide ongoing support for grant recipients, offer enhanced elder abuse awareness training for service providers and responders, and explore best practices for data collection.

Chair of the Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council, Shantel Ottenbreit said, “elder abuse is a complex issue that requires a coordinated, collaborative response.”

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“Through case management funding, we can support the great work already going on in communities and ensure response services are available for seniors experiencing elder abuse.”

Grant recipients include the Calgary Rural Primary Care Network serving the Claresholm region ($50,000) and Medicine Hat Family Services ($36,000). Below is a full list of the recipients:

• Healthy Families Healthy Futures Society: Athabasca, Westlock, Barrhead – $50,000
• Family Violence Action Society: Camrose and District – $50,000
• Calgary Rural Primary Care Network: Claresholm region – $50,000
• Vulcan Regional Response to Elder Abuse Council: Foothills and Nanton CCRs – $37,000
• Hinton Family and Community Support Services – $21,678
• Kerby Centre: Calgary Elder Abuse Response – $49,907
• Lamont County Region Family and Community Support Services – $50,000
• Lloydminster Interval Home Society – $45,000
• Medicine Hat Family Services – $36,000
• Edmonton Seniors Protection Partnership – $35,000
• Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF, St. Albert) – $20,000
• St. Aidan’s Housing Society (Fort McMurray) – $39,256
• Siksika Health Services – $46,000
• Stony Plain Family and Community Support Services – $50,000
• Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society (Sundre and region) – $15,950
• Enoch Cree Nation – $50,000

Minister Pon stated that, “seniors built this province and are the strength of Alberta.”

“Unfortunately, they are not always treated with the respect they deserve. Elder abuse is not acceptable, for anyone, and in any form. These new initiatives will unit Alberta’s government with community organizations across the province to take stronger action against elder abuse.”

Additionally, the province will undertake an engagement process with stakeholders and residents on elder abuse. This is intended to update responses to elder abuse “through better understanding, recognition and prevention at the community level”. The first step to achieve this will be to gather input on a revised provincial definition of elder abuse. Stakeholder engagement sessions will take place over the next few weeks and a feedback process with the public will launch later this year,

Currently, elder abuse is defined as “any action or inaction by self or others that jeopardizes the health or well-being of an older adult”. Prior to 2020, it was estimated that nearly one in 10 seniors in Alberta may be abused in some way.