Elder Abuse Forum Taking Place In Oneida County This Week

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Elder abuse is a growing problem not only in the United States but here in Central New York as well.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente are hosting an Elder Abuse forum this Thursday. The discussion is a partnership between elected officials along with the Oneida County Office for the Aging, the Oneida County District Attorney's Office, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, and Utica Police.

Identifying and preventing abuse will be addressed.  The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse has recently called attention to the 1998 National Elder Abuse Incidence Study which revealed that there are an estimated 500,000 persons aged sixty and older who are the victims of abuse, and that more than eighty percent of cases go unreported.  The Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect at the University of California maintains a clearinghouse for statistics on elder abuse.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi says Oneida County help is available to those who seek it and county agencies will prosecute abusers.

The Oneida County event is free and anyone can attend.  It takes place on Thursday, October 18, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00noon at the Whitestown Senior Center located at One Championship Way in Whitesboro.

For more information call Assemblyman Brindisi's Utica Office at: (315) 732.1055.