CLEARWATER, Fla., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of Florida, a non-profit mental health watchdog established by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz, pledged to fight for elder rights at their June 10th event held at the historic Fort Harrison.
Joined by hundreds of concerned citizens, the President CCHR Florida, Diane Stein, and featured speaker for the event, Kerri Kasem, founder of Kasem Cares, brought to light the issue of elder abuse at an event to raise awareness on this often unreported violation of rights.
Ms. Kasem, the daughter of well-known and loved radio personality, Casey Kasem, told the story of her fight to see her father and how what she went through spurred her to start the Kasem Cares Foundation to establish and fight for the right to have visitation and reasonable access to an ailing parent.
Unfortunately, Ms. Kasem’s ordeal is not uncommon. According to the National Council on Aging, as many as 5 million older Americans are abused each year with only about 1 in 14 cases reported to authorities.i
The 3 main areas that are rife with potential elder abuse according to CCHR are:
- Transfer trauma; which is the very real risk of death for an older person when they are relocated,
- Polypharmacy; which is simply the concurrent use of multiple medications including psychiatric drugs,
- Involuntary psychiatric examination and possible commitment, without due cause or eligibility. This is called Baker Acting in Florida.
In 2015, 13,856 individuals 65 and older were sent for involuntary psychiatric examination in Florida. Though this is only about 7% of the total number of initiated involuntary examinations, these initiations present a real danger of harm being caused through the transfer of senior citizens from long-term care facilities to Baker Act facilities.ii
“Seniors need to know their rights, they need to know how to protect themselves,” said Diane Stein, President CCHR Florida. “That is why we provide workshops with help from an attorney to educate people on their rights and how a declaration can protect them from unwanted and even dangerous psychiatric drugs and procedures.”
For more information please call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org.
About CCHR:
CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world. In March 1969, he said, “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of ‘mental health.’” For more information visit, www.cchrflorida.org
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i How many older Americans are abused?
https://www.ncoa.org/public-policy-action/elder-justice/elder-abuse-facts/
ii A Brief Literature Review of the Effects of Relocation on the Elderly http://www.heu.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research_reports/HEU_Literature_Review_Sept23_2002.pdf