Protecting Your Loved Ones From Elder Abuse in Atlanta

Preventing Elder Abuse

It’s imperative to be sure our loved ones are well taken care of in their golden years.

Since elderly abuse is real, we need to do all we can to eliminate it and keep it from happening.

The following steps are great ways to eliminate and reduce the abuse of the elderly.

Keep them close

If you have to send them to a nursing home or retirement community, do all you can to keep them close to you.

This will ensure you’re able to check on them on a regular basis.

It will also keep them from feeling lonely and isolated.

Stay In Contact

While it’s unlikely you’ll be able to visit every day, you can call every day.

You’ll be able to keep track of their interests and daily activities, and you’ll be able to offer help when they need it.

Building that relationship will make it much more likely for them to reach out to you for help when it’s needed.

You will also be able to spot abnormalities in their daily routine or their tone over the phone, signs that abuse or neglect is an issue.

Encourage Them To Stay Socially Active

Adults typically start to feel more isolated as the years go on. Encouraging them to participate in social events will go a long way to keep them active and engaged.

They’ll also build a community of friends that will be able to spot signs of neglect and abuse.

Having a strong network of friends and activities to attend will also help prevent self-neglect from occurring.

Educate Them About Any Scams

While we can all be targeted by scammers and solicitors, the elderly are much more likely to be taken advantage of.

Make sure they know what to look out for when someone calls them or approaches them offering them services.

If any scams have been reported in your area, make sure they know about them.

Keeping them educated and up to date is important to combat financial abuse.

Put Them In A Safe Environment

This one is pretty obvious. Never leave your loved one with someone that has a history of violent or destructive behavior.

It would be best if you kept the elderly away from abusive people at all costs.

The elderly are already more vulnerable than most, so they make for easy targets.

Again, pretty obvious, but worth repeating.

Exercise

They don’t need a membership down at the local gym, but they need to stay active.

Even going for a short walk every day will work wonders.

Staying active can prevent depression and make them less vulnerable to abuse.

Use Support Groups

Watching your loved ones decline with age is hard for everyone, especially if it involves putting them in a nursing home.

A quick search online will reveal several options for support groups available to you and your loved ones.

There are also support groups for the elderly that are explicitly designed to fight or prevent elder abuse.

Joining groups like these will make abuse less likely to go unnoticed.

Having a strong social circle makes abuse less likely to occur.