Big Lottery grant to help thousands of older people receiving abuse

The Big Lottery Fund has awarded the charity, Action on Elder Abuse a new £2 million National Lottery grant to help and offer support to thousands of older people who are at risk of hidden abuse at the hands of care workers or relatives.

The grant will give the charity the opportunity to increase its profile to encourage anyone who is being abused to seek help. Furthermore the funding will allow Action on Elder Abuse to expand and continue its work throughout the UK.

The charity which recently celebrates its 21st birthday, welcomed the funding and has plans for a significant expansion to increase awareness of elder abuse.

Chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse, Gary FitzGerald, said: “For years the abuse of older people has been covered up, ignored and marginalised, with greater protection often given to our pets than to older relatives or friends. The charity has been campaigning for more than two decades to fight this abuse, with only limited resources to tackle a problem that is a major blight on our society.

“The Big Lottery Fund has now changed this landscape. It’s very good news for those older victims who still have no voice, and who often suffer in silence … what we have called The Silent Scream.”

Action on Elder Abuse will spread the money over a period in five years, spending it on increasing the charity’s provisions to offer practical support of older victims receiving abuse and increasing staffing on their Freephone helpline.

The Big Lottery Fund allocates up to 40 per cent of funds raised for charitable and good causes by the National Lottery and the grant issued to Action on Elder Abuse is the largest the charity has ever received from a single donor.

There are an estimated 500,000 cases of abuse of older people within the UK each year often with abuse being carried out by someone the victim knows and trusts. There is further evidence to indicate that vulnerable older people have been the victim of £25 million worth of financial abuse.

Chairman of Action on Elder Abuse, John Beer, said: “The abuse of older people cannot continue to be ignored. It is a cancer at the heart of our communities and we have to deal with it now, or face untold suffering in the future with an ageing population.

“There is no excuse for abuse. There are no hiding places for abusers. With the support of the Big Lottery and our other financial donors, we will make that message a reality.” The grant will allow the charity to employ new Helpline staff to meet increasing demands, as well as create a role for a Communications and Press Officer as well as a new Peer Support service for victims and new development posts in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mr Beer added: “With this money from the Big Lottery Fund we can continue and expand the work that we have wanted and needed to do for a very long time, with more frail and vulnerable people living into their 80s, 90s and beyond. Abuse hurts whether you are 8 years of age or 78 years of age, and our response should be unequivocal in both cases.”

Action on Elder Abuse has seen the volume of calls triple since 2011 and expects the number of calls to reach 20,000 by 2015. The charity is the only national charity for elder abuse with a free helpline that is devoted to stopping older people receiving abuse.

Action on Elder Abuse can be contacted on their Freephone Helpline: 0808 808 8141 The phone line is open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday for confidential information and support.