Elder Safety Initiatives
Care and Protection of Our Seniors
We offer a wide range of safety, health, and wellness programs for seniors across Middlesex County. Senior citizens deserve to be treated with dignity and respect; however, far too often they find themselves the victims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, many times at the hands of a family member or caretaker.
Seniors may also be vulnerable to deceptive business practices from legitimate or purported contractors, tradesmen, or other service providers; and they often fall victim to extortion.
Through education and prevention programs, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office works to ensure that seniors are safe in their homes, and that the epoch of their lives is marked by happiness, tranquility, and security.
Personal & Financial Safety
Our Senior Protection Seminars alert seniors to common scams and schemes that target the elderly, while conveying tips on ways to safeguard finances from financial exploitation. Seminars are held at senior centers across the county and are facilitated by District Attorney Ryan. Staff from the District Attorney’s Elder Protection Unit, representatives from local police departments, protective service workers, and bank employees participate in a panel presentation, followed by a question and answer session.
District Attorney Ryan has set a benchmark for combatting elder abuse at the community level. Through education, prevention programs, and public private- partnerships, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office is on the forefront of addressing this troubling problem. With exponential growth expected among the state’s senior population over the next decade, we have worked to establish a number of unique initiatives sooner rather than later.
To request a seminar for your group, contact Sarah Lamson at Sarah.Lamson@mass.gov.
Grandparent Program
In 2016, we launched a new initiative specifically for seniors to raise awareness about the risks and impacts of the opioid crisis.
Approximately 34,000 grandparents in Massachusetts are raising grandchildren. According to a survey conducted by the Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Children, 80 percent of these cases are because of opioid use or the opioid-related death of a son or daughter.
The Grandparent Program provides an essential understanding of the opioid epidemic, educating seniors on the origin of the problem and how it has intensified over time. The program also provides seniors with tips on how to identify signs of a substance use disorder in the family, recognizing that children and grandchildren may not only be in need of help, but may also be stealing from seniors to support an addiction. In addition, the program educates seniors on how to safeguard medication from theft and how to properly dispose of unused or expired medication.
To request a Grandparent Program seminar, contact Nancy Chammas at Nancy.Chammas@mass.gov
Middlesex Senior Health & Safety Initiative
In the summer of 2014, MDAO launched the Middlesex Senior Health and Safety Initiative, a comprehensive training program for EMS, police, and fire personnel that examines the association between trips and falls and elder abuse.
The program uses trip and fall data from the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies to inform its efforts. The goal of the program is to provide first responders with the necessary tools to identify the less conspicuous signs of abuse or neglect and, upon doing so, to activate a rapid response intervention.
The program was originally launched in partnership with Armstrong Ambulance Service and piloted in Arlington, Bedford, Burlington, Lexington, and Medford. Additional program partners include Action Ambulance, Cataldo Ambulance, Trinity EMS, and PrideStar EMS.
Our office provides seniors with 'Files of Life', which provides first responders with important medical information when patients are unable to. To request Files of Life for your group, contact Sarah Lamson at Sarah.Lamson@mass.gov
Videos
How to Prevent Elder Financial Scams