SCRANTON — As part of annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Lackawanna County on Friday held an event to highlight the ways older adults increasingly experience abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, locally and beyond.
The event at the county government center downtown also recognized and thanked the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging and other local organizations for their efforts to prevent elder abuse and assist victims of it.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich, who was a director of the county’s Area Agency on Aging, lauded his former department.
“These individuals that go out each and every day and make sure that older adults are protected from abuse, exploitation and neglect are really doing some amazing things,” Kavulich told a crowd of about 35 people.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich, at podium at right, and who was a former director of the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging, speaks Friday, June 13, 2025 at a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event at the Lackawanna County Government Center in Scranton. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is recognized annually June 15, aims to raise awareness about older adults experiencing some form of mistreatment, and to have the public better understand the problem, as well as learn ways to identify, address and prevent it.
Elder abuse can take many forms, including neglect, financial exploitation and emotional, sexual or physical harm. It can occur in various settings, including homes, public places and nursing, personal-care or assisted-living centers. It can involve family members, caregivers, health care professionals or strangers.
Financial exploitation, whether done by a family member, a scam or someone else, has now become the largest category of elder abuse in the state, Kavulich said.
“This is something we need to talk about all the time. This is something that we need to make our neighbors aware of. This is something that we need to make sure is at the forefront of the conversation, because once those resources are gone, individuals cannot get it back,” Kavulich said.
Pennsylvania is home to 3.4 million older adults, the fifth-highest total in the nation, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.
As director of the county Area Agency on Aging, Kavulich led the development of the Older Adult Advocacy Center at Telespond Senior Services, 1200 Saginaw St. in Scranton. Described as the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, this center represents a national-level model of integrating services regarding elder mistreatment. It brings together medical, behavioral, legal and judicial services while offering temporary housing for victims as a plan is developed to meet their needs. Last month, Kavulich and local officials cut the ribbon on the Older Adult Advocacy Center.
Other organizations that participated in Friday’s event and received certificates of recognition and the first Jack T. Harte Awards “for providing exceptional resources for older adults experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation” included Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Telespond Senior Services, the Wright Center, Scranton Counseling Center, and the Lackawanna County Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Other speakers included current county Area Agency on Aging Director Sara McDonald and Assistant Director Kerri Anzulewicz, and Lackawanna County Commissioners Chris Chermak and Bill Gaughan.
Gaughan noted that victims of elder abuse are parents, grandparents and neighbors, “and their pain is real.”
“To turn a blind eye is to betray our shared humanity. But I’m proud to say that here in Lackawanna County, we do not turn away. Here, we act, we care and we protect. And we do so thanks in no small part to the remarkable team at the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging,” Gaughan said.
Chermak also said the Area Agency on Aging’s elder abuse protective services team “is a beacon of hope” that last year investigated 1,475 reports of elder abuse and provided critical support and resources to those in need, and set a national standard with Telespond.
“Whether physical, emotional, financial or neglect, elder abuse strips our seniors of the dignity and safety they deserve,” Chermak said.
Lackawanna County Commissioners Bil Gaughan and Chris Chermak speak during the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day program in the Commissioners Board Room in the Goverment Center in Scranton Friday. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
To report suspected elder abuse, whether at home or in a care facility, call the statewide Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-490-8505.
Director for the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging Sara McDonald introduces a speaker in the Commissioners Board Room in the county Government Center in Scranton Friday, June 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich joins the Lackawanna County Commissioners and, seated from left, Protective Services Supervisors Emily Stout and Lindsey Stevens, Protective Services Administrator Kristina Fiore, Deputy Director for the Area Agency on Aging Kerri Anzulewicz and Director for the Area Agency on Aging Sara McDonald for the Elder Abuse Awareness program in the Commissioners Board Room in the Goverment Center in Scranton Friday. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging pamphlets on elder abuse on display Friday, June 13, 2025 at a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event at the Lackawanna County Government Center in Scranton. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)