Financial
abuse by families hard to recognize
by Kristine Berey
Over the last few years, Moira MacDonald, social worker at the CLSC NDG/Montreal
West, has noticed that banking has become an issue for seniors. As local branches
continue to close and tellers are gradually being replaced by banking machines,
many long-time clients are left high and dry. “They are stuck at home
without a way of getting to the bank,” MacDonald said.
Even when mobility is not a problem, many older seniors feel uncomfortable using
the machines and prefer taking the bus to the nearest bank. If that becomes
impossible, due to bad weather or illness, these otherwise autonomous people
must become dependent on others to do their banking for them, sometimes leaving
them vulnerable to financial abuse.
The Community Committee on Elder Abuse (CCEA) is responding to this problem
by launching Prevention through Education, a program developed to help seniors
maintain control over their finances while providing information and resources
to prevent their being exploited.
“The objective of the program is to help seniors identify financial abuse
and give them the skills to handle it,” said instructor Catherine Gendron.
After an initial presentation on financial abuse and its legal aspects, seniors
were given access to computers and one-to-one instruction in on-line banking,
Internet and E-mail.
“We used videos and role play, illustrating different scenarios of abuse,”
Gendron explained. The presentation was interactive, and the audience was invited
to discuss examples from the presenters’ as well as their own experience.
One scenario involved a granddaughter pocketing the change from an errand she
did for her grandmother, without asking permission. Another was a son pressuring
his father to give him power-of- attorney.
“What surprised us is that people were uncomfortable calling it abuse,”
MacDonald said. Financial abuse perpetrated by strangers, in the form of scamming,
telephone or credit card fraud, is relatively easy to identify. However, abusive
situations occuring between people who know each other well aren’t all
that clear. “People say, that’s ridiculous, that’s not abuse,”
MacDonald explained. “They don’t want to see it because they have
to deal with other issues.”
When legal aspects were discussed, it became evident that many seniors were
confused concerning power-of-attorney. “Some of the seniors didn’t
know what their rights were, regarding those documents,” MacDonald said.
“What’s interesting is that people signed without fully knowing
what they were signing.”
Many people thought that having a will with an executor would protect them in
case of incapacity, which is not the case, MacDonald said. “A will can’t
protect you while you are alive.”
While the seniors were enthusiastic about getting information, they were reticent
to accept practical instruction. “Out of 45 people who came to hear the
presentation, only two or three signed up,” she said. Fear of breaking
the machines or being afraid to appear inept were some of the barriers to overcome.
“Once the seniors saw that they could do it, they began showing their
friends,” Gendron said. “Many said that now they felt ready to take
an introductory computer course at the library.”
Most seniors were delighted to learn about e-mail. “It breaks the isolation,”
Gendron said.
The workshops were first presented to people between the ages of 65 and 90 at
the HLM Terrebonne, the Henry Bradet Day Centre and the New Hope Centre, in
partnership with the CLSC NDG/MTL-O, Tandem, the Royal Bank, the Association
for the Defense of People and Property under Curatorship, and the police from
Station 11.
“We are trying to give a coordinated response to abuse situations,”
MacDonald explained. “We want to give seniors a face and a name and a
number to call in case they need help. This way people don’t have to go
through formal channels.”
Seniors are always presented as frail, told to be careful, what to do and what
not to do, Gendron said. “We wanted to get away from the victim identity.
We’re working from a strength position.”
If you have any questions regarding Elder Abuse or if you would like information
on how to replicate this program, call the CCEA at 483-1380 ext. 2016.
CLSC René-Cassin’s Elder Abuse Consultation Centre can be reached
at 489-2287.
