Holman (Nov 08/04) - Holman council is looking into the issue of elder abuse in the community.

"Some of the elders are being taken advantage of by their children," Mayor Gary Bristow said.

"Their children or their grandchildren won't visit them for two or three weeks, but the day the old age pension checks come in, they won't leave their sides."

Bristow said council has heard that relatives will often convince seniors to buy things for them, rather than taking care of their own needs.

Bristow said the hamlet had been without a social worker since the end of last year and the position was just filled last month.

"We're trying to raise awareness about the issue and we're trying to go behind the scenes," he said.

"It's not really a hamlet issue, but a social services issue. We casually mentioned it to the Northern (store) that they should watch out for these people trying to take advantage of elders on pension days."

Bristow said council wants to make sure the elders get all the benefits of the cheques they do get.

Barb Hood, executive director of the NWT Senior's Society in Yellowknife, said raising awareness of the fact that such abuse occurs is a good step.

"There have been two studies done in the recent past that found four per cent of Canadians 65 and over have been abused," Hood said.

"Another study shows that about seven per cent of Canadians 65 years and older have reported some form of emotional and financial abuse by adult children, a spouse or a caregiver."

Hood said about 2,000 seniors live in the NWT. Even if only one per cent were abused, it would still be considered a high number by the society.

Unfortunately, many cases of abuse remain unreported in the territories, she noted.

"They are suffering in silence. It's very difficult for elders to speak out against family. Nobody wants to admit their son or daughter or spouse is abusing them."

Elders are often vulnerable because of illness or disabilities and are dependent upon those who take care of them, she said.

And while it is traditional for parents to give to their children, she said boundaries are crossed when there is an expectation that elders will turn over all their pension money and resources to family members.

"But we have found that when we have elders in groups, they do feel comfortable in the right environment to talk about the abuse."