Senior Safety

Do you have a senior rel­a­tive that you check in on?  Do you have elder­ly neigh­bours or know some­one whose approach­ing retire­ment?  Then you must have heard about the atroc­i­ties that have hap­pened against these indi­vid­u­als over the last few months in the city.  Seniors were attacked in their homes, robbed while walk­ing down the street, and robbed while work­ing in their gar­dens.  Nowa­days, our com­mu­ni­ties have become dan­ger­ous places for seniors where they become easy tar­gets for bur­glars and rob­bers.  How­ev­er, that does­n’t mean a senior has to lose their free­dom and inde­pen­dence to gain secu­ri­ty and pro­tec­tion.  There are things that can be done to ensure that the elder­ly keep their free­dom and inde­pen­dence while also ensur­ing their safe­ty and pro­tec­tion.  So, what can you do about Senior Safe­ty?

• Install a secu­ri­ty sys­tem if you don’t already have one.  A secu­ri­ty sys­tem with secu­ri­ty cam­eras and a mon­i­tor­ing sys­tem is the best way to pre­vent bur­glars from enter­ing your home.  If you do have one, make sure that it’s acti­vat­ed.  If it’s an old sys­tem, con­sid­er upgrad­ing it to pro­vide the most secure pro­tec­tion.
• Don’t walk alone.  Go with a friend or fam­i­ly mem­ber.
• Observe your sur­round­ings.  Most of the time, our attack­ers have been watch­ing us for quite some time and have been observ­ing our behav­iour; that way, they know when to strike.  Report sus­pi­cious activ­i­ty around your house and change up your rou­tine every now and then to pre­vent being attacked.

If you do have an elder­ly rel­a­tive that is in a retire­ment home, make sure you check in on them.  Over the last few years, many reports have claimed abuse of elder­ly patients in these homes. Some things that you can do to increase senior safe­ty and pro­tect your loved ones:

• Do your research on the home.  If there have been any com­plaints or reports, this could be a red light that some­thing is not right
• Check out the dai­ly liv­ing con­di­tions and ensure that every­thing your loved one needs to be com­fort­able is present and acces­si­ble.
• Check-in on your rel­a­tives often and keep in touch.  They are your best eyes and ears to the place.  If some­thing is wrong, they will be the first to let you know.
• A retire­ment home is not the only choice.  Many seniors live inde­pen­dent­ly and have been cared for by their rel­a­tives.

It’s sad when a senior becomes an easy tar­get for abuse or rob­bery due to the per­cep­tion of their age.  If wit­ness injus­tice against a senior in your com­mu­ni­ty, report it to author­i­ties imme­di­ate­ly.  Also, try lend­ing a hand to them, help­ing them feel safer in their home and com­mu­ni­ty.  Togeth­er, we can all make our com­mu­ni­ties safer for every­one.