The Lethbridge Elder Abuse Response Network is getting a positive boost from students at a local post-secondary.
Students in the Therapeutic Recreation – Gerontology program raised just over $1,100 through different fundraising initiatives in February, which marked Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month.
The Lethbridge Elder Abuse Response Network, or LEARN, is a program overseen by the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization that provides support options for older adults who are the victims of elder abuse.
Every year, the polytechnic program selects a local cause to support during the awareness month. “We chose LEARN because they mirror a lot of our values as therapeutic recreation [students],” says second-year student Maryann Mein.
“We really get close and create bonds with our seniors that we work with,” she adds.
Mein explains that the program teaches students how to address the needs of seniors through more therapeutic methods as opposed to those that are pharmacological based.
Some of the fundraising initiatives spearheaded by students last month included creating and selling Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month shirts, crocheting and selling dish cloths as well as a ‘till top-up’ program at the Coaldale Pharmasave that encouraged shoppers to donate to the cause.
An awareness event was also held on February 14 at the polytechnic.
“It was really fulfilling to not only design shirts that therapeutic recreation specialists can wear, because we don’t have a lot of [merchandise]. It was really great to make clothing for us but then also benefit such a wonderful program in our community,” says Mein.
Before embarking on her path in the Lethbridge Polytechnic program, Mein was a nurse but notes she was so busy that she found it difficult to meet all the needs of her patients, which led her to the post-secondary program.
She says the course and career path will allow her “to build the relationship with my clients and be able to fulfill them in more a non-pharmacological standpoint and just see [that] those total holistic needs [are] met”.
“I am so thrilled that we were able to raise so much money to help LEARN and see what wonderful things that they can do with it,” Mein adds.
GRATITUDE FROM LSCO
Amy Cook is a former case worker and now the support services manager at the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization. She oversees the LEARN program.
Cook says not only is the funding highly impactful, but the awareness goes a long way too, as not many people realize how prevalent elder abuse is.
“This class should be so proud of what they did. Any amount is impactful but to raise that much money in such a short period of time – we’re so thankful to them,” she remarks.
“While they’re changing folks’ lives with money, they’re also changing folks’ lives just with the awareness of the resources available to them.”
The LEARN program assists seniors who are the victim of all types of abuse, including verbal, physical, and emotional.
Cook adds one of the more common scenarios they see is financial abuse.
“Older adults are on a fixed income if they’re on basic pensions of only $2,000 a month, so the most common type of abuse that we see is financial abuse, which means when people finally flee, they’re often fleeing, really, with nothing,” she remarks.
Cook adds that financial support is valuable as it helps with scenarios that victims may not have prepared for.
“Nobody necessarily saves for the day that they have to flee abuse. Nobody anticipates experiencing mistreatment and harmful behaviors that they then have to flee,” she says.
“Although we have programs in place and supports in place to help people through that there are still things like buying underwear, buying basic clothing, buying snacks, buying comfort items that people aren’t often prepared to do when they flee situations.”
Cook says neglect is another issue they encounter as many seniors are “often depending on loved ones or children to assist them”.
“Families are tricky, and sometimes family dynamics aren’t positive, so we see folks left without their basic needs met because their caregiver is maybe burnt out, maybe [they] got overwhelmed, [or] maybe got frustrated,” she explains.
Cook remarks that elder abuse is unfortunately “extremely common”, explaining that “unlike child abuse, it is not legislated and it’s not in the Criminal Code”.
“What that means is, unless someone has experienced a physical assault, a sexual assault or a traditional theft, there’s really no recourse within the criminal justice system, so that means that programs like ours are really impactful.”
Cook notes the LEARN program helped around 100 people last year, despite a pause in operation for a few months due to a lack of funding.
The network currently has two case managers who support individuals in Lethbridge and outside the city in areas such as Lethbridge County, Cardston and Cardston County, Taber, the M.D. of Taber, and County of Warner.
Cook says seniors bring plenty of value to their local community, but unfortunately, ageism (the discrimination of someone due to their age) “is alive and well and it’s the most commonly accepted ‘ism’ that we have”.
“People often see and hear about ageism, and they think, ‘yeah, that makes sense’, whereas at LEARN and at LSCO entirely, we see the value in older adults,” she states.
More about the work of the local program is available at the LEARN webpage. Further resources can be found at the Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council website.
