Tennessee Voices, Episode 302: Grace Smith and Ashley Hunter address elder abuse
Tennessee's population of older Americans (17%) slightly surpasses that of the United States as a whole (16%).
However, citizens ages 65 and older have grown to become a larger — and very important part — of society.
However, they also face challenges that are unique to their demographic from health-related issues to being targeted as victims of abuse, be it direct harm or scams.
World Elder Abuse Day is celebrated on June 15 to raise awareness, but the topic requires consideration all year long.
This episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast features Grace Smith, executive director of AgeWell Middle Tennessee, and Ashley Hunter, director of FiftyForward's JL Turner Center.
Hunter also leads her organization's Victory Over Crime program, and Smith previously joined me as a guest on episode 160 in March 2021.
They spoke about their groups being trusted community resources to the public and advocating on behalf of older Americans.
Smith and Hunter also talked about the challenges of working with clients during the shutdown period of the COVID pandemic.
They had to pivot to the health restrictions.
However, they also contended with a usually steady stream of referrals of abuse coming to a halt. Nevertheless, they knew cases of elder abuse and exploitation were still happening.
They adjusted to the world of webinars and also continued efforts to provide clients with food and transportation.
Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.
Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee.
Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee.
Your state. Your stories. Support more reporting like this.
A subscription gives you unlimited access to stories across Tennessee that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you. Click here to become a subscriber.
About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
Finally, our journalists are working hard during this pandemic to bring you accurate, verified and solid information. Please consider subscribing and supporting local journalism.
Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Stopping elder abuse with Grace Smith, Ashley Hunter
