Wife of Late Fort Lee Mayor Raising Awareness About Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is a growing and often hidden problem in today’s society. The organization Save the Abused and Frail Elderly (SAAFE) defines it as the physical, emotional, sexual, financial mistreatment or neglect of people over the age of 65.

Residents of Fort Lee will recognize the name of one of the leading advocates for victims of elder abuse in the borough.

Joan Alter, widow of the late Jack Alter, who served as Fort Lee Mayor from 1992 to 2007, is an active member SAAFE, an organization formed to raise awareness about elder abuse in Bergen County communities. And Alter wants Fort Lee residents and others to know about an important conference coming up on April 1 at Bergen Community College called “Elder Justice: From Abuse to Prosecution.”

Alter estimates SAAFE has been around for about four or five years and said she joined about a year in, when she was invited to a meeting by a neighbor who knew Alter was a retired social worker with a specialty in geriatrics, “so I have a special concern.”

“We’re a bunch of retired social workers and psychologists that got together to form this group,” Alter said. “And she asked me to come to a meeting, and they were just a terrific group of women. I’ve been very involved with them [since].”

Alter spent her career working as a social worker at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. As a graduate student of social work, she specialized in geriatrics.

“I am a former social worker,” Alter said. “People say, ‘Are you retired?’ And I say, ‘Not really, I just don’t get paid anymore.’”

SAAFE sponsors presentations for various groups, including especially police departments and other emergency services agencies—the Fort Lee Police Department among them.

“We bring materials and talk to them about elder abuse, because people are very unaware of it,” Alter said. “I was aware of it because I had worked at a hospital where I came across several cases of it. It’s not just the physical part, which sometimes they see, but there’s emotional, sexual, financial mistreatment or total neglect of people over the age of 65.”

Alter noted that abusers are often those people the elderly can expect to trust the most, including family, friends and caretakers in homes or institutions. She noted that statistics reveal the fastest growing portion of the population in this country to be “not just the aged, but the old, old—85 and up.”

“And most of them live independently, but very often they need help,” Alter said.

She said that in Fort Lee elder abuse doesn’t seem to be a “huge problem” and that local awareness is increasing. She said in fact that two members of the Fort Lee Police Department and two members of the Fort Lee Health Department will be attending next Friday’s conference at BCC.

“The community is aware that we’re here, and know about us for help if they need us,” she said.

Alter identifies the following as "red flags" of elder abuse:

• Physical/sexual abuse - slap marks, unexplained fractures, bruises, “nonsensical” sexual contact

“When an older person shows up with a black eye or a twisted arm or a bruise unexpectedly, and says, ‘Oh, I just walked into a doorway,’” Alter said. “It’s the same as violence against women, where they don’t talk about it. Well, the Police at least in Fort Lee are alerted to this and need to find out about it. Sometimes an older person will show up in a hospital with a broken arm, [and say], ‘Oh, well, I just slipped and fell.’ But hospitals are now very aware of this problem the same way they’re aware of child abuse.”

• Emotional abuse - withdrawal from normal activities, unexplained changes in alertness
• Financial abuse/exploitation - sudden change in accounts, altered wills and trusts, unusual bank withdrawals, loss of property

“If for example their elderly relative suddenly finds that they no longer have as much money as they thought in their bank account or they’re missing social security checks,” as Alter described it. “That could be an instance of fraud, although the banks at least near Fort Lee are pretty aware of this.”

• Neglect - lack of basic hygiene, lack of medical aids, such as glasses, a walker, hearing aids and medications, hoarding, incapacitated peple left without care, malnutrition, dehydration

Alter said that people who are concerned a loved one may be suffering from elder abuse should call Adult Protective Services right away at 201-368-4300; Jewish Family Services at 201-837-9090 or Catholic Charities at 973-266-7941

“Or they can get in touch with SAAFE at 551-795-0471,” Alter said. “They can just report this and someone will get back to them.”

The Elder abuse conference, “Elder Justice: From Abuse to Prosecution,” will include presentations by Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, Bergen County Judges Peter Doyne and Michael R Dressler and forensic and geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Bennett Blum, a national authority on undue influence, elder competency and behavior manipulation.

Alter says Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, Bergen County Freeholder Bernadette McPherson and Assemblywoman Joan Voss of Fort Lee will also be in attendance.

The conference is Friday, April 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Bergen Community College’s Moses Family Meeting and Training Center in Paramus.

For more information or to register for the conference, contact SAAFE at 551-795-0471.