Dr. Wael Hamade, geriatric medicine division chair at Riverside University Health System, Medical Center and associate director of the Elder Abuse Forensic Center does a home visit with a senior. Hamade is part of a Riverside County multidisciplinary team that helps safeguard at-risk adults and brings justice for those who’ve been harmed. Valley News/Courtesy photo
Riverside County social workers, medical, legal experts team up to protect at-risk adults
Thousands of aging and disabled adults in Riverside County suffer from abuse and neglect each year, but isolation and shame stop many victims from reporting crimes that their trusted family members and friends often commit.June is National Elder Abuse Awareness Month, when communities spotlight the growing problem of elder neglect and abuse, and raise awareness about the cultural, social, and economic challenges impacting the aging and disabled. Stakes are high in Riverside County, the 10th most populous county in the nation with 2.5 million people – and one of the most rapidly aging.Today, one in every five county residents is already age 60 or older. In coming decades, the over 60 populat
