The Winter 2011/2012 edition of the NPSCF newsletter is
here.
All past newsletters can be found at our Newsletter section above.
Elder Abuse / Mauvais traitements envers les aînés
La version française suit.
Dear Sir/Madam,
The Government of Canada is dedicated to combating elder abuse and ensuring that Canadians are well informed about the signs and symptoms of this serious issue.
From November 21 to December 11, we are pleased to be re-airing our elder abuse awareness television campaign Elder Abuse – It’s Time to Face the Reality. Through the continuation of this campaign, we intend to increase awareness of what constitutes elder abuse and to provide Canadians with essential information and resources for preventative action.
In the interest of collaborating and providing a unified front to Canadians on the fight against elder abuse, we invite you to post a promotional icon on your web site – linking to 
Seniors Canada and our elder abuse awareness page. This page features a suite of relevant tools and products including the existing television ad and a listing of provincial and territorial resources on elder abuse. I encourage you to visit the site to learn more.
Thank you for your valued partnership as we work together to combat this serious issue. Please contact us if you are interested in promoting this initiative from your Web site.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Alice Wong, P.C., M.P.
Minister of State (Seniors)
Madame, Monsieur,
Le gouvernement du Canada est déterminé à lutter contre les mauvais traitements envers les aînés et à veiller à ce que les Canadiens soient en mesure de bien reconnaître les signes et symptômes de ce grave problème.
Nous sommes heureux de rediffuser, du 21 novembre au 11 décembre, notre campagne télévisée de sensibilisation aux mauvais traitements envers les aînés, intitulée Les mauvais traitements envers les aînés – Il est temps d’ouvrir les yeux. En poursuivant cette campagne, nous voulons sensibiliser davantage les gens à ce que sont les mauvais traitements envers les aînés et fournir aux Canadiens des ressources et des renseignements essentiels en vue de l’adoption de mesures préventives.
Par souci de travailler en collaboration et de faire front commun à l’égard des Canadiens dans la lutte contre les mauvais traitements envers les aînés, nous vous invitons à afficher sur votre site Web une icône publicitaire qui comporte un lien vers le site Aînés Canada 
et vers notre page de sensibilisation aux mauvais traitements envers les aînés. Cette page présente un ensemble d’outils et de produits pertinents, y compris la publicité télévisée actuelle et une liste de ressources provinciales et territoriales concernant les mauvais traitements envers les aînés. Je vous encourage à visiter le site pour en savoir davantage.
Nous vous remercions de joindre vos efforts aux nôtres en vue de lutter contre ce grave problème. Veuillez communiquer avec nous si vous êtes intéressé à promouvoir cette initiative à partir de votre site Web.
Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes sentiments les meilleurs.
L’honorable Alice Wong, c.p., députée
Ministre d’État (Aînés)
NPSCF Applies for Pan-Canadian Project on Elder Abuse
On November 25th our Federation applied for a three year, $750,000 project to be funded by the federal government under the New Horizons Seniors Program. Our application will be reviewed, along with all other Pan-Canadian proposals submitted. The review period is 4 to 5 months with approved projects to commence in the spring. This autumn’s call for proposals is exclusively directed by the government towards elder abuse; we would have preferred a broader program.
Our proposed concept would start in the first year with the establishment of an office in Ottawa and staffed by an Executive Director with clerical assistance. The work would then include the gathering of a library on current writing on all areas of elder abuse including best practices in training.
From there, state of the art training modules will be written and tested for optimum effectiveness.
The development of our materials will address all areas of elder abuse including emotional, physical, sexual, spiritual, neglect, and financial abuse. The training will address awareness, detection, assistance and remedial topics and include an interface with other community agencies that have contact with seniors.
The work of the project will be overseen by an Advisory Committee of 3 or 4 volunteer activists from the Federation who will set goals, approve the final materials to be used and monitor progress and results. There will be a rigorous evaluation process built in to identify improvements to be added as required. The backbone of the project will be the recruitment of about 120 volunteer seniors across Canada to deliver the training during the second and third years running. They will be trained in the use of the new modules by the Executive Director or outside occasional trainers. All expenses of the staff and volunteers are built into the program funding.
At this time I would like to thank our partners for their outstanding co-operation with our project. We have Provincial organizations from B.C to Newfoundland and Labrador who have signed letters of support. This was a crucial and necessary component of the application. In addition, we have letters of support from other professionals working on behalf of seniors. Our NPSCF executive all helped to secure these letters in time for the deadline for filing the documentation. A full list of all participants would take too much space here.
We have asserted in our proposal that we have the ability to reach seniors on the broadest basis possible with the participation of our provincial partners and affiliated clubs. We hope to have good news when the approvals are announced in the spring. Thanks to all of you for your strong showing of willingness to be part of this very ambitious initiative.
