Jun 19, 2014 7:32 PM by Annie Snead
June is elder abuse awareness month and last year the El Paso County Department of Human Services received more than one thousand reports of abuse or neglect.
"This is an issue in our county and in our state and in our nation. Elder abuse is grossly under reported so I think this just highlights awareness for people," said Christopher Garvin.
Garvin is the Deputy Executive Director for the Department of Human Services. He says some of the warning signs of elder abuse include differences in behavior, extreme withdrawal, depression and anxiety.
"And then they're being kept away from others or isolated, those are real signs that something is up possibly, the less people see you the less you can talk about it," he said.
Sometimes they may be embarrassed by it, or they may not be mentally able to report it themselves.
So don't let it go if you think abuse may be happening.
"It's extremely important because you're talking about who have participated in our society, have contributed, their money and resources are being drained from them and to me that's just not right. We need to report that and protect their resources and give them the quality of life and respect they deserve," Garvin added.
Starting July 1st, our state has instituted a mandatory reporting for abuse , neglect and exploitation of at risk seniors who are 70 and older.