YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 | January 4, 1987) News 085-2131 Residents Feds Classified 986-0222 A NORTH SHORE organization has been established to deal with the exploding number of elderly area residents be- ing swindled and abused by unscrupulous relatives. The federal government recently granted North Vancouver's Seniors Help and Information Group $10,490 to provide counselling to the numerous North Shore elderly people being victimized by relatives and neighbors. North Shore Information and Volunteer Centre legal information counsellor Pear! MacKenzie said although her gronp does not advertise or specialize in such pro- blems, it has received 50 reports of financial and legal abuse of the North Shore elderly in the last two years, up from no reports between 1982 and 1984. People take advantage of the elderly by skimming money off their pension cheques and by abus- ing the power of attorney over their property, she said. Mackenzie said the elderly often allow others to do their banking for them because conducting business transactions becomes in- creasingly difficult, for them with the partial loss of such faculties as eyesight, hearing or reasoning. “We're trying to tell people, vou have the power to control your ewn fife,” said Mackenzie, who tas worked closely with the Seniors Help and information Group for the lust four years, She said the problem has become increasingly serious on the Distribution 986-1337 AQ pres 2Se plunge into '87_ Designs on the New Year PAGE 15 REE: AT THE Hope for cancer victims: 7) |personality| Aonored PAGE 25 sound of the gua, New Year’s Day revelers take to the water (left) in the fifth an- nual Penguin Plunge at Deep Cove's Panorama Park. This year’s icy event drew 54 people ard seven dogs to brave the chilly water while 300 spectators stayed warm and dry on shore. Of- ficial mascot Polly the Penguin (above) gives a local youngster tips on how to stay warm in (he water. NEWS photos Mike Wakelletd the area's increasing North Shore because elderly population — is dramatically. The North Shore, she said, will soon have the second largest con- centration of elderly people in B.C., after Victoria. The popula- tion of people over 55 on the North Shore is expected to increase 50 per cent, from 14,700 to 21,600, between 198} and 1991, MacKenzie said, Ninety per cent of the elderly defrauded are women, she said, and 20 per cent speak English as a second language, which further complicates their business trans- actions, Women are victimized more than men, MacKenzie said, because many ere widows whose husbands hardled the banking and in previous generations wonien had more difficulty accumulating capi- tal than men did due to inequitable work opportunities, MacKenzie added. The federal money will pay for office space, telephones and some professional counselling over the next 18 months she said. The Seniors Help and [nforma- tion Group is composed of mostly retired professionals who ap- proached Health and Welfare Canada for a grant to help deal with the growing problems in North Vancouver. Pearl Vaughan, a 72-year-old retired economist and group member, said talented, — retired people formed the group because they wanted to do more than visit people in hospital, The group has approximately 15 active senior members and will be attempting to recruit another 20. Neighbors, doctors, nurses and social workers often contact her now, MacKenzie said, when they give funds for North Shore _ seniors’ centre recognize that someone is being cheated or is having difficulty managing their affairs. MacKenzie said younger rela- tives often use emotional pressure to take advantage of the elderly, by threatening, for example, to end contact with grandchildren if grandparents do not obey. Another problem, she said, is unemployed children returning to live with elderly parents. They do not have the emotional energy, she said, to deal with the trauma their children are going through and in some cases return- ing children physically abuse their parents. She said her agency, the North Shore Information and Volunteer Centre, is co-sponsoring a con- ference on the abuse and negtect of the elderly at the International Plaza Hotel Jan. 28 and 29 and expects over 100 participants.