Adult Protective Services seeks to educate, empower elderly with The Power of Purple

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By Christine Holmes, News Director

The Muskingum County Interdisciplinary Team, as part of Adult Protective Services, is recognizing the week of World Elder Abuse Day with a morning of education and empowerment for Muskingum County’s senior citizens.

From 9 a.m. until noon Friday, the Muskingum County Center for Seniors will be filled with more than a dozen stations for “The Power of Purple,” which aims to promote health and safety related strategies to prevent elder abuse.

“We decided as a group that this would be important and hopefully bring some awareness to the situation and what can we do as a community to help reduce the vulnerability of our seniors,” said Patsy McDonald, Team Leader for Muskingum County’s Adult Protective Services.

There will be giveaways and stations manned by various organizations throughout the community to share information and ways to become involved in the community, as well as tips to help seniors boost their self esteem and defend themselves from various forms of age-based predation.

According to McDonald, one of the main messages at the center of the program is to tell seniors of “just the power that we have that sometimes we don’t tap [into] because we’re not even realizing that we do have power.”

Those who stop by the Center for Seniors will be encouraged to fill a passport by visiting the various tables and stations throughout the facility.

At the end, participants can turn their passports in at the validation table in exchange for kind words and the possibility of a prize.

“It’s where there will be someone who will say something nice to somebody — how nice you are, that your smile can change the world and it can for some people who may not feel like anyone likes them,” said McDonald.

Seniors will be educated on topics such as scams, personal health, dating, addiction and self-empowerment.

“We just really want to increase the awareness of elder abuse within our agencies and focus on serving the elderly community on a regular basis,” said McDonald of the Muskingum County Interdisciplinary Team.

The Muskingum County Center for Seniors is located in Downtown Zanesville at 160 N. Fourth St.