MEXICO — Organizations that serve the elderly and area residents assembled on June 19 to take part in a Senior Resource Fair, a program developed by the Oxford County Elder Abuse Task Force.

The program promotes Elder Abuse Awareness and provides information and resources for senior citizens concerning elder abuse. The Senior Resource Fair was sponsored and hosted by Oxford Federal Credit Union in Mexico.

Speakers discussed the different ways elder abuse can occur and provided information to help avoid becoming a target of elder abuse, as well as resources that are available for seniors that are victims of elder abuse.

Diane Gallagher of Safe Voices said, “If a senior is being mistreated or hurt by someone in their family, or someone living in their home, sometimes they are afraid to tell someone, fearing that no one will believe them, and that is why Safe Voice exists, we are here for them.” Safe Voices has a 24-hour helpline at 1-800-559-2927.

Organizations that participated included Adult Protective Services, SeniorsPlus, Sexual Assault Prevention, MedCare, Oxford Federal Credit Union, Community Dental, River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, Legal Services for the Elderly, AARP, EIM, Western Maine Transportation and Safe Voices.

Jill Randall, a lawyer from Legal Services for the Elderly, spoke about the need to raise awareness about elder abuse and exploitation. LSE helps elders whose basic needs are being threatened. LSE operates a Legal Services Helpline, 1-800-750-5353, where elders can speak with a lawyer at no cost, about legal concerns. Some of the questions LSE receives are related to debt, questions about housing, problems with benefits and elder abuse and exploitation. An Elder Rights Handbook is available to view online at www.mainelse.org.

Lt. Tom Harriman, from the Oxford County Sheriff’s office, spoke about some of the scams that are hitting Maine, including a Jamaican lottery where victims are told they won a trip and are asked to wire money to pay for the taxes before receiving their prize.

Harriman informed the group that the people running these scams are always looking for ways to exploit elders and that elders should be skeptical of all solicitations. His rule is that “it’s shrewd, not rude, to hang up on telemarketer.” Harriman also said that if you don’t know who a call is from, it may be best not to answer the call.

A participant offered her advice, saying that she has given all of her family members, especially her grandchildren, a code word to use. If she suspects there is any kind of fraud or exploitation taking place she can ask the person on the phone that claims to be calling on her family’s behalf for the code word.

MedCare offers “Vials for Life” for local residents at no cost. The program offers prescription drug vials that contain a bright green sticker, which is to be placed on the outside of the resident’s refrigerator. The sticker alerts MedCare that there is a vial, which is kept inside the refrigerator, available. The vial itself includes a form, with all pertinent medical information for a household member, that has been completed by the resident. The medical information is extremely valuable to MedCare to help in an emergency should they need to come to your home.

Mexico Police Chief Roy Hodsdon addressed the group and talked about the importance of taking care of seniors as they have taken care of us. Hodsdon organized Project Senior Watch, which is available to Mexico residents. Each morning he calls seniors at home to make sure they are okay. To be a part of this program, contact Chief Hodsdon at 364-5686.

Tammy Daigle and Samantha Noyes from Oxford Federal Credit Union spoke about the importance of never giving out personal and/or account information to anyone, unless you initiated the contact. They also talked about the training the credit union staff receives to learn about red flags to watch for to aid in making sure that seniors’ finances are not being exploited. OFCU is also involved in the Senior $afe project to help protect seniors’ assets and financial accounts from scams, exploitation and identity theft.

For more information, contact Diane Gallagher at Safe Voices at 364-9908.

Other important numbers include: Sexual Assault Prevention 24-Hour Helpline, 1-800-871-7741; Western Maine Transportation Reduced Fares for Seniors, 1-800-393-9335; MedCare Poison Helpline, 1-800-222-1222; and Community Dental Sliding Scale Fee for Services, 207-369-3600.

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