My job is to plan for catastrophe, yet Jane’s story was an echo of my own. My mother, a fiercely seniors independent and proud woman, worked until she was 86 years old; but after she was forced into a senior nursing home care at age 93, she died within weeks. Ethel enjoyed a long life. Its end was certainly not a direct result of the loss of independence and personal dignity she experienced in the nursing home. But if I had helped her plan for her very old age, she might have spent her last months surrounded by neighbors and friends, instead of professional caretakers. (more…)

Elderly abuse or elderly neglect can be put within the general category of violence that may be designed for different populations (women, children, seniors, etc.). Mistreating the elderly can occur in different areas: community, institution, society, etc. If it occurs on the community level, a category in which you can include it in the domestic or family violence, which also includes child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. (more…)