World Elder Abuse Awareness Day highlighted at People’s State Bank
By Peyton Meisner
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is recognized each year on June 15. To highlight the day and issue, members of the Crawford County Adult Protective Services I-Team took a photo at Peoples State Bank with a banner to raise awareness of the issue.
The purpose of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is to promote awareness of the issue and to encourage citizens to report suspected incidents of elder abuse. Abuse can include physical, sexual and emotional acts, financial exploitation, neglect, and self-neglect.
Elder fraud takes place an estimated 5 million times a year in the U.S., with losses possibly up to $27.4 billion, according to a report by the tech website, Comparitech.
Persons wishing to make a report of elder abuse or an adult-at-risk of abuse can contact Crawford County Health and Human Services at 608-326-0248. Calls after business hours can be made to the Prairie du Chien Police Department at 608-326-2421 or to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department at 608-326-0241. Callers can remain anonymous.