Oregon Everyday Heroes
 
Image

Nominate a Hero!
 
The mission of the Everyday Heroes Campaign is to keep elders safe in our communities.
The Everyday Heroes Campaign goals are to:
  1. •increase public awareness about elder abuse,
  2. •increase reporting of incidences of elder abuse,
  3. •reduce tolerance of elder abuse and,
  4. •provide connections for individuals and families to existing supportive community resources.
Welcome to Oregon Everyday Heroes
Financial and physical abuse of the adults age 65+ is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America. Reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation increased 19.6 percent from 2000 to 2004 with nearly half of those reports being substantiated. While some studies estimate that between 3 percent and 5 percent of the population age 65+ have been abused, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging estimates that there may be as many as 5 million victims every year.

The Governor's Commission on Senior Services created the "Everyday Heroes" campaign in an effort to raise awareness of elder abuse, increase reporting, reduce tolerance of elder abuse and find ways of connecting individuals and families with community resources.

Click here to listen to a podcast from Former Attorney General Hardy Myers.

"It has been only in recent decades that abuse of elderly and disabled adults has been widely recognized," said Former Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers. "Some studies say elder abuse may be as common as child abuse. And now enter the 'Baby Boomers,' a huge group of Americans just beginning to retire and who may be in need of additional assistance to remain safe." Myers said that less than one cent of every federal dollar spent on victim abuse goes to help the adults age 65+, even though older adults make up approximately 17 percent of the population in America.