Serving the Eastern Townships English-speaking Community since 1979.
WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY IN THE TOWNSHIPS
June 9, 2010
In April 2002, at an international conference in Madrid, Spain, countries from around the world adopted a set of United Nations action plans regarding the substantial demographic changes presented by the aging of the world population. The plan included a call to action at all levels of society to protect the human rights and dignity of seniors. These imperatives led to the creation of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day which is observed June 15 of every year. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is an opportunity for individuals, organizations, communities and governments to recognize and build awareness that many older women and men in their community and around the world experience abuse or neglect.
Townshippers’ Association, through its With Respect to Our Elders project, has answered the call to action on local and regional levels with a number of innovative intergenerational art programs that promote learning, explore creativity and celebrate the dynamism of seniors here in the Eastern Townships. The most recent event that took place in May was the memorable Intergenerational Music Festival in Stanbridge-East. With Respect to Our Elders also participates in the Global “age-friendly municipalities” initiative and in the recording of local oral history.
This year, Townshippers’Association is taking a more active role in addressing Elder abuse and neglect as well. On June 15, Townshippers’, in collaboration with the Council against the mistreatment of older people in the Estrie and other local partners will honour World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by unveiling a new bilingual website dedicated to putting an end to Elder abuse. The launch will be at La Brulerie de café de Sherbrooke. A festive 4 à 6 media gala is planned including a press release, a detailed presentation of the site, live music, and special guests.
The website is the brainchild of Eric Akbar Manolson, coordinator of the With Respect to our Elders’project, Paul Pronovost, Community organizer with CSSS Sherbrooke, who died unexpectedly in March, and Audrey Côté, project agent for the Council against the mistreatment of older people in the Estrie. Both Manolson and Côté emphasize that the new website will be “one of a kind” in Quebec, bringing together a multitude of resources in the Estrie region all in one place. As Côté notes, “there is no website out there that covers the maltreatment and abuse of seniors with all tools and regional resources to fight it.”
The site will include a highly informative resource page with tools for learning about and recognizing the signs of elder abuse, a listing of CSSS service locations in every MRC of Estrie, a calendar with current activities for prevention of maltreatment in each MRC, links to important partner organizations and even an emergency button on the home page which directs visitors to important phone numbers to dial if they are in crisis.
As for Townshippers’ Association’s role in this important initiative, Manolson said, “We were honoured to be an integral part of this project.” In addition to working on the English component of the site, Manolson will ensure that the official launch will be a festive one, inviting musicians and incorporating an intergenerational element at the same time. Working in concert with Côté, Manolson invited young students, ages 8 to 18, from each MRC of the Estrie region to write a poem, a song or other creative piece on the theme of “How to prevent the abuse and maltreatment of older people (and avoid the need to heal its effects later on). One winner from each MRC will be awarded a $50 Paul Pronovost Memorial Prize and be invited to read from their work at the media gala and website launch event on June 15.
Look out for next week’s column when we will announce the website address.
For more information about the ‘With Respect to our Elders’ project and the new website contact Eric Akbar Manolson at 819-566-5717 (1-866-566-5717) or by email at eam@townshippers.qc.ca
Photo Credit: Table de concertation contre les mauvais traitements faits aux personnes aînés de l’Estrie.
Photo Cutline: Banner for the Stop Elder Abuse website.