Fighting Financial Exploitation of NH’s Elderly

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Concord New Hampshire – Nearly 140 leaders from criminal justice, financial services, legal services and community-based supports from all regions of the state gathered at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord on April 20 for Combating Elder Financial Exploitation in New Hampshire: A Leadership Summit.

Input from both the summit and upcoming regional meetings will guide the creation of a statewide action plan for addressing elder financial exploitation that uses a coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach.

Regional meetings will be held in Gorham at the Medallion Opera House on May 17, in Rye at the Rye Public Library on May 19, in Manchester at the Elliott Hospital on May 24; and in Keene at the Cheshire County Correctional Facility on June 22.  For more information, please contact the summit coordinator at efesummit@gmail.com.

Summit participants learned about effective strategies, shared perspectives and generated ideas for improving our state’s response to elder financial exploitation in a collaborative, coordinated way.

The summit featured Paul Greenwood, Deputy District Attorney in San Diego, Calif., as the keynote speaker. Greenwood, a nationally-recognized speaker and trainer, is a strong proponent of multi-sector approaches to address the issues of elder abuse – including financial exploitation.

“We’ve got to understand the impact of these crimes on victims’ lives – financially, emotionally and in so many other ways,” Greenwood said. “When we sit down together – banks, police, prosecutors, adult protective services, hospitals, mental health – and we start communicating, collaborating and understanding each other’s different roles – not treading on each other’s positions – it’s phenomenal what can happen.”

Other speakers included state Rep. Katherine Rogers, D-Concord; Mark Primeau, president of the Bank of New Hampshire; and Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice.

Among the key findings:  the need for more professional trainings; the benefits of developing more multi-disciplinary teams to increase effectiveness; and the need to build public awareness of elder financial exploitation through a coordinated campaign.

These initial findings will now frame the agenda for continued discussions at a series of five regional follow-up meetings in May and June to engage more local professionals from all sectors in identifying challenges and potential opportunities for collaboration.

Organized by the Coalition Against Later Life Abuse (CALLA) and coalition member New Hampshire Legal Assistance, the leadership summit received major funding support from Endowment for Health and Bank of New Hampshire.  Scholarship sponsors included:  Lake Sunapee Bank; Optima Bank and Trust; Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association of NH; Laboe & Tasker Law; and Western Union.