Elders Matter: Area Agency on Aging Hosts Awareness Events

The Southwestern Commission Area Agency on Aging will be sponsoring the Spring Aging Conference on June 9 at the Southwestern Community College Burrell Building in Sylva. The theme for this year's conference is "Music & Memory," with keynote speaker Ruth Price, a performance by The Village People, and a viewing of Alive Inside. 

Anyone who is a professional, advocate, or caregiver or is interested in learning about and sharing best practices in aging services could benefit from attending the Conference and those interested in understanding how organizations that provide critical services for seniors can survive in the face of reduced funding and increases in demand for services are also encouraged to attend. The registration brochure is available as a .pdf file.

The Agency on Aging, in partnership with Macon County Senior Services, Swain County Senior Center, and the Jackson County Department on Aging, will also be commemorating World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by hosting a tri-county Walk to End Elder Abuse on Wednesday, June 15. This year’s theme is: Elders Matter: Support Elder Abuse Awareness.

Macon County Senior Services is commemorating World Elder Abuse Day by hosting a Walk to End Elder Abuse at the Franklin High School Track. 

Did you know that every day 10,000 people turn 65 in the US alone? That trend is going to continue for nearly the next 20 years. Our demographics are shifting, and we will soon have more elder people in the US than ever before. At the same time that the population is growing, we know that a startling number of elders face abusive conditions. Every year an estimated 5 million, or 1 in 10, older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture: Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as 23.5 cases go unreported.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day serves as a global call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders. The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations (UN) launched the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on June 15, 2006 in an effort to unite communities around the world in raising awareness about elder abuse. WEAAD is in support of the UN’s International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue.

For more information about Macon County Senior Services Walk to End Elder Abuse, please contact Scott Mathews at (828)349-2058 or smathews@maconnc.org.