PEAPN is hosting its 2nd Annual Wellness Walk and Community Fair in partnership with CARP (Mississauga and Brampton Chapters) on Saturday, June 15th, 2013, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Flower City Seniors Centre in Brampton. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to help provide more coordinated community services to victims of Elder Abuse, and to support the implementation of our 72-Hour StopOver program. Guest speakers include MPP Linda Jeffrey, Peel Regional Council Chair Emil Kolb and Deputy Chief Chris McCord with the Peel Regional Police. There will be great door prizes, continental breakfast, a Nordic pole walking clinic, and lots of live entertainment including Latin dancing demonstrations. While the objective is to raise awareness on this issue, and raise funds for our work, the event also marks a celebration of aging and wellness, and enjoying life to the fullest especially in our golden years!
June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and communities across Canada and around the world will be commemorating this day, raising awareness about the prevalence of Elder Abuse and the importance of people around the world coming together to ensure the rights of older adults are upheld and honoured. The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, in support of the United Nations International Plan of Action, designated that June 15th, 2006 be the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day as a time to share information about the state of Elder Abuse and to recognize the significance of it as a public health and human rights issue.
Our current operational funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation expires in August, and while we are in the process of applying for provincial and regional funding, we are in need of permanent funding for 2 staff positions to continue with public outreach activities and the implementation and training of the 72-Hour StopOver Program. If we do not receive sufficient funding by the fall, PEAPN’s ability to continue operations could be in jeopardy.
Our politicians need to understand that abused seniors in crisis have no safe place to go to – shelters are not the answer as specialized care is often required for vulnerable, and often frail seniors who have been abused. For the 72-Hour StopOver Program, we are hoping to coordinate the integration of existing services with our network members and private retirement homes to provide a “win-win” for abused seniors and the community, ultimately reducing the burden on our hospitals and health care system. With Elder Abuse on the rise and our growing seniors’ population, our politicians need to provide serious, permanent funding so that we are able to develop and implement solutions at the grass-roots, community level where they are needed the most.
Given our current funding crisis, we welcome donations of all amounts which can be made online at www.peapn.ca. More information about our fundraising Wellness Walk and Community Fair on June 15th can be found on at www.peapn.ca and www.carp.ca.
For more information, please contact:
- Karen Sibal, Program Coordinator, Peel Elder Abuse Prevention Network (PEAPN) 905-450-1608 ext. 175, [email protected]
- Murray Etherington,
Chair, CARP, Mississauga Chapter, 416-997-0919, [email protected]
