Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich recently helped to celebrate the groundbreaking of a first-of-its-kind older adult advocacy center in the Commonwealth specifically designed to serve older adults who are victims of abuse or neglect in Lackawanna and surrounding counties.

Telespond Senior Services will be home to a regionally accessible older adult advocacy center. It will be the first in Pennsylvania to offer a person-centered approach to abuse investigations, care and treatment plans, and education for older adults while providing emergency respite and short-term transitional living space.

The center will include four bedroom units along with a medical station, bathing accessibility, a lounge, kitchen area and laundry facilities for abuse victims. The center will also house adult day and personal care services, senior companionship, legal services, transportation and more. Construction will begin in late summer.

"This innovative model is reflective of Governor Josh Shapiro's vision for the Commonwealth, which prioritizes safe communities where everyone can live with freedom and dignity. The older adult advocacy center will be designed to serve older adults in the safest, least restrictive way. No one should ever be a victim of abuse, especially our aging population," said Secretary Kavulich. "The center will be a welcoming place for older adults who need a trusting space for supports and services and to feel safe and comfortable. As former director of the Lackawanna Area Agency on Aging, I'm proud to have played a role in this project and thankful to all of the community partners and leaders who have helped to make it a reality. This facility will change thousands of lives and will serve as a state and national model."

The northeast regional Area Agencies on Aging offices partnered with the Department of Aging, the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging (P4A), Telespond Senior Services, The Wright Center for Community Health, the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office, and Weill Cornell School of Medicine to ensure an older adult advocacy center is viable, sustainable, and can be replicated in other communities across the Commonwealth.

"As someone who has worked in the field of elder abuse for over 30 years, Pennsylvania's new older adult advocacy center is both groundbreaking and unusually innovative. It enables older adults to retain dignity and independence by staying in the community while their complex situations are addressed, avoiding costly and potentially debilitating hospitalizing or nursing home placement. I hope many states follow this example," said Dr. Mark Lachs, professor of medicine, Weill Cornell School of Medicine.

Pennsylvania's Older Adult Protective Services Act (OAPSA) provides a framework for reporting elder abuse, receiving and investigating those reports, and planning to reduce risk to vulnerable older adults. More than 35,000 investigations under OAPSA are completed annually in Pennsylvania. In Lackawanna County alone, investigations are approaching 1,200 annually with only an estimated 10% of cases reported.

The announcement of this new older adult advocacy center also recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), which takes place every year on June 15. WEAAD aims to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

If you suspect an older adult is the victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, please call the Pennsylvania Department of Aging's Protective Services Helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-490-8505.