Respecting Elder Citizens-Preventing Elder Abuse Being valued and treated fairly: Respect, dignity and indusion. uraki Family Violence Intervention Network is proud to be partnering with Age Concern Thames for this short series of articles. We are seeing elder abuse increasingly frequently when we look at the trends of family violence locally. As people age, they can become more vulnerable and susceptible to abuse and neglect-however we recognize the wealth of knowledge and wisdom the older members of our whanau and community bring to our lives. Over the next few uniqueness and their contribution to society as ell as the weeks we'll be sharing some ideas you can use to help prevent elder abuse and neglect Top tips: Respect is remembering and acknowledging an elders whanau. Respect is supporting your kaumatua to live safely in the place that they thoose Always listen if an elder seems anious, quieter than normal or seems unusually distracted, this may be the first signs of abuse happening in their lide Respect is knowing what is important to kaumatua. Respect is making sure that an older persons money is only used for their benefit. Supported to make their own decisions: Advance elders the same courtesies and considerations that you would other adults if they ask for your advice. Growing older does not always mean that you lose capacity to make the right decision. Top tips: Listen actively if an elder asks for your advice. Respect the fact that, like other adults they do not want to be told what to do they want to be listened to and helped to make up their own mind. Respect is treating a person how you wish to be treated. Remember that everyone processes information and thoughts at a different speed, this does not have anything to do with their degree of intelligence or their right or ability to make their own decisions. Hauraki Family Violence Intervention Network (HFVIN) is a collective of around 100 individuals representing over 60 organisations from across the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki Regions We believe in supporting positive connections between people and strengthening healthy relationships and families. We do this by sharing key messages holding conversations, sharing resources and by providing training. ncer VIOLENCE FREE