With World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, we reflect on the fact that every day, seniors around the world fall victim to unscrupulous people who try to take advantage of them.
Elder abuse is a real concern in today’s world, especially with the rise of faceless and distant Internet crimes that prey on our elderly’s eagerness to help, their confusion and, in some cases, their lack of technological know-how. But the internet isn’t the only place these abuses take place. Elder abuse happens in many places and in different contexts and we must work towards ending it in all its forms.
The COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, has brought the plight of our elderly to a new level of awareness. The suffering many have endured during this time is tragic, unacceptable, and preventable, particularly in long-term care settings.
The generation that did so well to selflessly care for family, friends, and communities has not seen the same level of care returned thanks to high-powered decision-makers who look for savings instead of investment. Now more than ever we know that privatization does not work. It only results in neglect as the people in our long-term care homes and their families can attest.
As the world ages at a faster rate than any other recent generation, OPSEU is working on finding solutions to prevent seniors from suffering financial, physical, and mental pain in what are supposed to be their golden years.
OPSEU always fights for the rights of those who struggle to have their voice heard. We will always be their voice.
In Solidarity,
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President
Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida, OPSEU First Vice President/Treasurer