Cultivating
Gardens
Community spaces
open to the public
See Local News, page 3
Youth Leader
Honored
Parks employee
invited to the
White House
See Metro, page 11
S Jtarilanh ©bseruer 43
‘City
of R
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photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
Sgt. Margaret Bahnson (right) of the Portland Police Bureau’s Vulnerable Adult Unit, speaks out on the growing number o f crimes committed against the elderly during a
public forum last week.
Crimes Against Elderly
Advocates discuss
tactics to stop abuse
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Multnomah County received 8,300 reports
of abuse, fraud and financial exploitation
committed against a growing elderly popula
tion last year.
“We are looking at ways to partner with
the community on abuse prevention and
draw a road map for Multnomah County on
how to prevent this abuse,” said Mohammad
Bader, manager of Protective Services and
chair for the Interagency Community for
Abuse Prevention.
Bader joined other community members
and professionals from all walks of life last
week for a full-day forum to discuss proac
tive methods to help victims and stop new
offenses.
“We are looking at ways to enrich our area
and respond to victims of abuse and their
families by building a network of organiza
tions and individuals who are concerned
about this issue,” Bader said.
He added that he is happy to see the issue
receive more attention, especially because
the Portland area is beginning to see an
increase in incidents, which rose by 2.5 per
cent from 2010.
In recent months, Bader said they have
particularly seen an increase in financial
abuse he attributes to the poor state of the
economy.
“With age you seem to accumulate more
resources, including pension, incomes and
houses,” he said. “And as more people are in
touch with older and elderly adults with
money and resources, this becomes an is
sue.”
Abuse in long term care facilities and the
non-reporting of crimes against the elderly
are added concerns.
“People need to know it is okay to call and
let us know what is going on,” Bader said.
According to Multnomah County, 84 per
cent of crimes against the elderly went unre
ported last year.
“Our job is to educate people on the
continued
on page 18