Abusers of the elderly often start with best intentions, DA says

SALT LAKE CITY — Most people who decide to start taking care of their elderly loved ones start off with the best intentions.

But sometimes caring for that loved one turns into stress, anxiety, depression and a financial strain for the caregiver.

“Most family caregivers do not wake up intending to neglect or intimate or mishandle a loved one. Abuse often begins when an exhausted caregiver has no support, no break and no place to turn. If we want to prevent elder abuse, we must (help) caregivers before they reach that breaking point,” Debbie Hall, director of Adult Daycare at Neighborhood House, said Monday.

To mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Monday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill on Monday shared data about elder abuse cases in the county and some of the resources available to prevent such abuse from happening.

In Utah, a person is considered a vulnerable adult when they turn 65. The district attorney’s office reviews cases of physical abuse, financial abuse and exploitation, and those who are victims of neglect and abandonment and even sexual abuse.

And while Gill says his office does not see a lot of elder abuse cases, two areas that have significantly increased in criminal charges being filed over the past year include aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and neglect of a vulnerable adult. Gill says the increase is likely due to Salt Lake’s aging population and greater awareness among residents.

Some of the red flags of possible abuse include increased or unexplained welts and bruises on an elderly victim, the victim becoming more withdrawn or fearful, and the victim losing control over their finances and their possessions disappearing.

Approximately two-thirds of the perpetrators of elderly abuse are family members, said Gill, who was joined on Monday by Hall and Sandy Police Sgt. Ron Anson, a leader in investigating elder abuse cases in the county.

“Elder abuse happens behind closed doors. It is not something that is seen in the public. This is something that happens generally in families,” Anson said. “Elder abuse is very much a ‘see something, saying something’ type of situation.

“The caretaker fatigue does set in. And somebody who may not have had that intention in the beginning crosses that line into the criminal area where the neglect and the physical abuse and their frustrations boil over,” he continued.

Anson says both the DA and Sandy City have adult protective service divisions to help. Respite care, or places that offer temporary relief for overwhelmed caregivers, is also important, he stressed.

“We’re not out to make arrests and just prosecute people and put them in jail. We’re here to get people help. And I think that needs to be our focus,” he said.

Neighborhood House offers respite care, and Hall says it should be treated not as a luxury, but as an evidence-based needed intervention.

“Elder abuse is often not committed by bad people. It is frequently when a well-intentioned caregiver becomes overwhelmed. They become exhausted. They feel unsupported and they are unable to cope,” she said.

The state hotline to report elder abuse is 800-371-7897.