M arch 14. 2012
Page 18
T erry F amily
2337 N. Williams Ave.
Portland, Or 97227
503-249-1788
We make the service personal.
Yon make the tribute personal.
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the extra mile. With our online Memorial Obituary, now we can do even more.
Friends and family can find out service information, view photos, read obituary,
order flowers and leave personal messages of condolences from anywhere, anytime.
Simply go to our website.
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"Dedicated to providing excellent service
and superior care o f your loved one ”
Dwight A. Terry
Oregon License CO-3644
Amy S. Terry
Oregon License FS-0395
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
A public forum addresses elder abuse. According to Multnomah
County, 84 percent o f crimes against the elderly went unreported
last year.
Crimes against Elderly
c o n t i n u e d f r o m front
We would like to invite you to our
Good Friday
Pastors
Jerry & Annie
Gutierrez
Passover Service
Join us for this very special night of celebration!
New Song Community Center
2511 NE MLK Blvd • Portland, OR 97212
Corner o f NE MLK Blvd and Russell Street
DOORS OPEN AT 6PM FOR EVERY SERVICE.
For directions or more information, call 503-488-5481
or log on to w w w .m f h m p o r t la n d .c o m
markers and indicators of abuse and
to protect the victims of abuse,” he
said.
Looking around the room on Fri
day, he said more than 50 organiza
tions, including police officers, state
and local politicians, non-profits
and medical caretakers showed up
to partake in the forum.
“We hope to reduce the inci
dents o f abuse in M ultnom ah
County and the whole state of Or
egon,” he said.
A ccording to Sgt. M argaret
Bahnson of the Portland Police
Bureau’s Vulnerable Adult Unit, the
community needs to be educated
on what is going on, so prevention
can begin to take place.
“I am here to network and share
information to see what we can do
collaboratively to come up with
ways to reduce abuse to vulnerable
adults,” she said. “We know these
cases are underreported.”
B ahnson said her unit, w hich
is co m p rised o f tw o d etectiv es
and tw o o ffice rs, is w orking at
c ap acity , w ith cases av erag in g
one p er hour.
“A lot of what we actually seem
to be doing the most are financial
exploitation cases,” she said. The
most recent one involved a man
with a developmental disability en
couraged to invest in a scam com
pany. “He lost about $40,000,” she
said.
Another common crime is steal
ing money from elderly parents or
grandparents, by “tricking them,
basically,” she said. “Prevention is
the most effective tool available to
combat this kind of abuse.”
Holly Freewynn, who works for
Multnomah County Adult Protec
tive Services, agreed.
Throughout the week, Freewynn
conducts a number of unannounced
home visits to investigate allega
tions reported of financial exploita
tions.
“We are required by statute to
visit if we get referrals, and the
screeners are the ones who decide
how quickly we go out after some
one calls in,” she said. “My goal is
to prevent financial exploitation
because it is so devastating to our
seniors.”
Freewynn said one reason she is
so dedicated to her work is because
the abuse has been proven to affect
the longevity and health of an
individual’s life.
“I’m really passionate about fi
n an cial e x p lo ita tio n s because
people who are exploited tend to die
earlier and suffer more illnesses than
their peers who aren’t,” she said.
According to Freewynn, the calls
about elder abuse come from every
type of person and organization
within the community, including the
police, case workers, care takers,
family members, and banks. “They
come from everywhere and anyone
concerned,” she said.
For more information on ways to
recognize crimes against the elderly
or to report an incident, visit
multco.us/ads or call 503-988-3646.