Friday, May 4, 2012 - 7:54am
EL PASO — May is elder abuse prevention month, and Adult Protection Services is working to raise awareness about the issue.
More than 4,000 cases of elder abuse were reported in El Paso in 2011. Grace Ortiz with APS said it is important to know the signs of abuse and how to prevent it.
"Someone who's isolated, alone, that means that they're not able to care for themselves which can lead to physical neglect, medical neglect. Also, individuals who show signs of fear. 65 percent of the time it's family who are causing the abuse taking their checks, or they're emotionally, verbally abusive towards them," said Ortiz.
El Pasoans are encouraged to wear purple on Friday to support elder abuse prevention.