Imagine you were a bank teller, and one of your “regulars” was a slightly disheveled, thin, foot shuffling elderly gentleman, who sometimes seemed confused. Imagine this man often came into your bank to withdraw cash, and while you were processing his transaction, he told you the money was for nice people who had called him on the phone asking for his “help”. Imagine you knew that over the course of a year, this man to whom you’ve taken a special liking and can’t help but feel protective toward, had given away more than $21,000 to questionable people who were likely taking advantage of a kind and generous soul.

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You would probably be asking yourself “what should I do about this?” As a professional, it’s not appropriate for you to reach out personally, but you don’t want to just ignore it and have him lose everything either. What a difficult position to be in.

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Now imagine the solution was easy!

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You are the same bank teller above. However, you have gone through SeniorConnect training. The training only took you 20 minutes online and was very informative. It told you how to identify a senior at-risk, and where to go for help. You see a clear connection in your interactions with this elderly gentleman and the warning signs of financial abuse. You know you can get help for him and feel relieved that there is someone you can turn to - all you need to do is call the Help Line they talked about in the training. Trained individuals take over from there, and an experienced social worker will go to visit him. They will make sure he’s safe and will help him with whatever he needs. What a relief.

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Many of our SeniorConnect stories involve serious issues such as elder abuse, addictions, mental health challenges and financial fraud. These seniors are the most vulnerable and require an engaged community to look out for them.