Neglect & Abandonment

Did this happen to you or someone you know?

1. Has the person who is supposed to take you to the grocery store, shopping, or to a place of worship stopped taking you there?
2. Has the person who is supposed to help with household chores or cooking or eating stopped helping you? 
3. Has the person who is supposed to help get you to the doctor, or take medicines at the right times or amounts, or get glasses or dentures stopped helping you?
4. Has the person who is supposed to help you bathe or shower, or get in and out of bed, or get dressed, or go to the toilet stopped helping you? 
5. Has the person who is supposed to help you pay bills or manage your money stopped helping you? 
6. Has anyone left you alone or deserted you at home or elsewhere for a long period of time? 

Warning signs of neglect include:

• Dehydration, malnutrition, untreated bed sores, and poor personal hygiene
• Unattended or untreated health problems
• Hazardous or unsafe living condition/arrangements (e.g., improper wiring, no heat, or no running water)
•  Unsanitary and unclean living conditions (e.g., dirt, fleas, lice on person, soiled bedding, fecal/urine smell, inadequate clothing)
• An elder's report of being neglected
• The desertion of an elder at a hospital, a nursing facility, or other similar institution
• The desertion of an elder at a shopping center or other public location
• An elder's report of being abandoned