Canada’s seniors’ ranks are growing steadily. They are considered to be some of the most vulnerable group of the population. This has made them an easy target for fraud and abuse. The senior issues in the mainstream community in general and South Asian community in particular have become a serious concern. With advancing age, seniors begin to experience multiple physical, social, emotional and psychological problems. During their advancing years, seniors need a lot of support and encouragement in order to lead productive lives. Unfortunately, the reverse happens. Most of them become easy targets of scam artists, fraudsters and even some family members. These can take different forms. Most common forms of abuse are neglect, physical, financial and emotional abuse. Though any form of senior abuse can be serious and must be condemned yet financial abuse for them can be totally devastating.
To their credit, a lot of financial institutions, businesses and organizations are doing a commendable job in creating awareness about these issues, especially financial abuse, and empowering seniors to protect themselves against it. In this context, a forum held on June 22 at India Cultural Centre of Canada’s Gurdwara Nanak Niwas in Richmond was a great success. Close to 100 seniors took the time to attend this very valuable workshop. Metro Vancouver Cross Cultural Seniors Network Society (MVCCSNS) made this workshop possible in partnership with Vancity. Workshop organizer Kam Sandhu did an excellent job in bringing to-gether this large number of South Asian seniors. Vancity’s Victoria Drive Community Branch Account Manager Indar Jit Gill did an impressive job in explaining the intricacies of seniors’ financial abuse and strategies to protect themselves from such abuse. The seniors found this forum to be very helpful. They thanked Indar Jit, Kam, MVCCSNS and funders for making it possible for them to learn about financial security. Funding for this much needed initiative was provided by New Horizons Program of the Canadian government.
Kam Sandhu informed the participants that MVCCSNS would be pleased to offer such workshops for South Asian seniors in other communities like Burnaby, North delta and Surrey. Kam can be reached at 778-889-9605 and MVCCSNS can be reached at [email protected].
Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.
