Wisconsin Launches Elder Abuse Hotline

While the problem isn't new, the aging of the Baby Boom generation has brought a greater awareness of elderly abuse.  A new hotline established in Wisconsin aims to provide a source for reporting suspected abuse of the older population.

The forms that elder abuse takes are many.  The abuse can come from strangers (i.e. scam artists, phone scams, cons posing as door-to-door salespeople) and it can unfortunately come from close friends and family members.

With funds from a federal program, the State of Wisconsin established the hot line number:  1-833-586-0107.  Victims, family members, associates, and anyone who suspects that an elderly person that they know is being taken advantage of can call to report the case, get referrals to the local authorities, and discover useful resources.  To go along with the number, funds were set aside to help promote its existence via a variety of adverting mediums.

A news report about the new hotline shared statistics about how relatively common elder abuse is.  According to Robert Kellerman - Executive Director of the Wisconsin Department of Justice:

"We know from studies on the prevalence of elder abuse that for every case that is reported there are 23 that are not reported. This hotline is a much needed resource for our state and we are pleased to partner with Attorney General Kaul in the fight against elder abuse."

In addition to the hotline number (1-833-586-0107), there is a website that people can visit to get more information. The website:  ReportElderAbuseWI.org offers similar resources and reporting links as a companion to the hotline phone number.