DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ELDER ABUSE?

2011 ELDER ABUSE SYMPOSIUM COMING TO THE OCONEE COUNTY CIVIC CENTER

ATHENS, Ga. – The Athens Community Council on Aging (ACCA), Northeast Georgia Area Agency on AGIN (AAA), Oconee Area Resource Council, and local Georgia Cares Program are gearing up to bring the Northeast Georgia region the 2011 Elder Rights Symposium.  It will be held September 8, 2011 at the Oconee County Civic Center with a cost of $15 which includes breakfast, lunch, and a chance at door prizes.

The symposium educates and raises awareness within Northeast Georgia communities of elder abuse.  Nathanael Wright, Assistant District Attorney for the Special Victims Unit in Chatham County and Randy Thomas, a retired police officer from South Carolina, are the keynote speakers and will educate on what constitutes as elder abuse, when it occurs, and the different types of abuse including physical, emotional, and financial.  Both speakers have years of experience with detection, reporting, and prosecution of elder abuse cases.

Dr. Leisa R. Easom of the Rosalynn Carter Institute will present on caregivers and the burden that caregivers feel while caring for a loved one and address different support groups for them. Mark Franklin, the Northeast Georgia Elderly Legal Assistance Program attorney will educate the community on different types of contracts that older individuals may or may not need.   Event sponsors will be available all day as a resource to attendees to provide contacts to agencies in our community where they can seek help and have questions answered.