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LANETT — The Lanett Senior Center will be hosting an Elder Abuse and Fraud Summit on Thursday, August 10th. Anyone who if of 55 years of age or older, disabled people who are at least 50 years of age, volunteers and caregivers of senior adults and those who are advocates of older adults might strongly consider  going to this. It will be taking place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT.

Registration is required and must be done by August 9th by going to teresaspeigner@earpcd. or calling (256) 237-6741 ext. 150; cassandra.brown@earpcd.or calling (256) 237-6741 ext. 170 or summer.mcneal@earpcd.org or calling (256) 237-6741 ext. 180.

This summit will offer important advice on protecting seniors from financial fraud, exploitation and abuse.

This program is being funded by a grant from the Investor Protection Trust which can be reached at www.investorprotection.org.

The summit is being sponsored by Senior Medicare Patrol, Alabama’s Long-Term Obbudsman, the Alabama State Health Insurance Program (SHIP), the Alabama Securities Commission, the East Alabama Regional Planning & Development Commission (EARPCD), the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the Investor Protection Trust and the City of Lanett.

According too experts in the field, the seven most common forms of elder abuse are physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, self-neglect and abandonment. Any of these elder abuse types can be devastating to older people and their families. Signs of possible elder abuse include unexplained physical injuries, poor personal and home hygiene, unusual financial behavior and sudden behavioral changes.

Warning signs that something isn’t right can include an elderly person transferring assets to people, unusual spending behavior, checks being written to cash or the unexplained disappearance of cash or property.

The summit will focus on ways to protect seniors fro being victimized from this kind of abuse.