Coalition pushes to prevent and halt elder abuse

A coalition of Minnesota county officials, senior advocates, health care providers and banks is launching a statewide educational campaign on elder abuse.

The coalition, the Stop Abuse and Financial Exploitation of Elders in Minnesota or the MN S.A.F.E. Elders Initiative, has produced a video, website, mobile apps and a toolkit to help people identify abuse.

A founding member of the initiative, Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo, said the video is meant to be used with other materials to start a discussion about abuse and how to stop it. It debuts at 6:30 p.m. Sunday on Twin Cities Public Television.

Palumbo said more education is necessary because seniors are often hesitant to turn in abusive family members.

"Our experience is that doesn't always happen," he said. "Most family members want to stay away from conflict. To get help there has to be some sort of intervention by an outside agency or outside people to intervene and change the situation."

Written materials will also act as a supplement to the video. In addition there is an app that we have developed in conjunction with students from the William Mitchell College of Law that will be useful for law enforcement and for people who work with our vulnerable population.

The materials are available here.