The Schuylkill Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance is marking 10 years with a memorial dedication Wednesday outside the county human services building at 420 N. Centre St.
The monument will be unveiled during a ceremony featuring the Secretary for the state Department of Aging Brian Duke serving as keynote speaker.
"We wanted to do something to mark our first 10 years," Georgene Fedoriska, SEAPA co-chairwoman and executive administrator of the county Office of Senior Services, said Thursday.
The organization started as a task force targeting elder abuse in 2004 and obtained 501(c)3 status in 2007. It now has a board of 30 members which includes clergy, attorneys, funeral directors, bankers and employees at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Like any organization, it had to overcome early growing pains before becoming a model now being used by other counties in the state.
"I think it was just getting people to invest in the idea," Fedoriska said. "It was something new for the county and not all counties have them."
It was a learning process, she said, but it was the variety of community partners that made the organization work.
"If it's going to work, it is going to take time," Eileen Barlow, Schuylkill County ombudsman and SEAPA board member, said. "It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of different personalities. I think the diversity of the board members helps us."
Public education and raising awareness are two of the main goals of SEAPA. The organization sponsors free training to help employers, organizations and service providers dealing with seniors on a regular basis in identifying and preventing elder abuse.
"There's a lot of things we do in the community to raise awareness," Fedoriska said.
The organization has held an annual silver ribbon campaign each May since 2008 to coincide with Older Americans Month and raise awareness about elder abuse. As part of the campaign, local businesses and organizations display silver ribbons and pass out silver lapels to employees and customers in an effort to raise awareness about elder abuse.
"The more people that stand up and say this is the wrong, the more legislators will listen," Fedoriska said.
The county district attorney's office has also been involved with SEAPA since its formation.
Chief County Detective Dorothy "Dolly" Malec, also a SEAPA board member, serves as a liaison between the district attorney's office and the organization.
"It's heartbreaking and as a community we need to watch over them (our seniors) and make sure it doesn't happen," Malec said.
Malec said the training sessions that the organization provides have helped her immensely with her job.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Malec said about her time with SEAPA.
Malec said a lot of people think of elder abuse as a civil matter, but the situation often rises to the level of criminal and when it does, that is when the district attorney's office steps in.
"The law has evolved to fit the problems elders are facing," District Attorney Christine Holman, also a SEAPA board member, said.
Holman cited the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect July 1, 2009. The law requires that all contractors who perform at least $5,000 worth of home improvements per year register with the Attorney General's Office.
However, more importantly, the law has specific requirements geared towards the elderly. For example, it mandates how contracts are prepared visually. That includes things like larger font.
"There is so much criteria geared toward an older person's understanding," Holman said. "This really hits the nail on the head and I attribute that to all the groups across Pennsylvania like SEAPA for helping mold this law."
Over the next 10 years, one of the things SEAPA will be advocating is the requirement for all 52 AAA class counties in Pennsylvania to have an elder abuse task force.
"We would like to see each one have a task force and the Department of Aging would like to see that too," Fedoriska said.
Some of the other things the organization would like to see change include improved oversight on powers of attorney, the ability to video tape statements from elder abuse victims with failing health and possibly the start of an elder abuser registry.
Ceremonies begin at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. The monument was designed by The Baut Studios Inc., Stoyersville.
"Everyone sees something a little different in it," Barlow said. "At the end of the day, it's a lasting tribute that we hope will get people to sit up and pay attention to elder abuse. They have provided us with everything we have today so we should be able to provide them with safety and peace of mind in their later years."
SEAPA will have its annual Bornbrook Memorial Awards luncheon at The Greystone Restaurant following the memorial dedication at 12:30 p.m. The awards are named in honor of John J. Hornbrook, Pottsville, who donated $3.1 million in perpetual charitable trust to SEAPA. Awards are given to an individual and a group who have helped the agency or the elder community.
Events will conclude with a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the monument and a Japanese lantern send off.
If it rains, the dedication ceremonies will take place at the Sovereign Majestic Theatre, 209 N. Centre St.