SUCCESS worked with a number of key partners to engage a broader segment of the Chinese immigrant communities of Metro Vancouver on the topic of elder abuse. They worked with seniors, family members, volunteers and the community.
Project Objectives:
- To increase a broader segment of the Chinese community (seniors, family members, volunteers and community) to become more informed about elder abuse.
Key Partners:
- Seniors First BC, Richmond Hospital, Richmond Public Library, Richmond RCMP, Canadian Bankers Association, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Multi-Level Care Society, Chinese Christian Mission, Radio FM 96.1, Fairchild TV, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Evergreen News, Vancouver & Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society, BC Responsible Gambling Prevention Program, Canadian Mental Health Association, Richmond Youth Service Agency, Richmond Cares Richmond Gives, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Chinese Help Lines, OMNI Television.
Activities:
- Identified existing Chinese print and video materials on elder abuse to use with media, forums and group dialogues.
- 16 workshops – audiences included seniors (Mandarin and Cantonese speaking), volunteers, health care personnel and Chinese Help Line staff/volunteers.
- Engaged with media, including television and radio interviews (primarily Cantonese and Mandarin channels), published news articles, and hosted community forums.
- Evergreen newspaper: published 3 articles
- Talentvision interview: 2 interviews
- FM 96.1 Radio call: 2 shows
- Fairchild TV: Mandarin promotion interview
- OMNI News: Cantonese promotion interview
- News articles about the Public Community Forum: Westca, Vancouver Overseas Chinese, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., CN, Fairchild TV, Mingpao Daily, Singtao Daily
- Public Community Forum included a panel discussion, an educational vignette, and two workshops provided by Richmond RCMP and Canadian Bankers Association.
- A vignette (video) was created to illustrate elder abuse concepts – presented a scenario involving abuse, and then allowed the audience to reflect on their own situations.
Outcomes:
- Provided information to seniors, family members, service providers and youth to raise awareness about elder abuse.
- Promoted intergenerational communication in some of the workshops.
Tools and Resources:
- Facilitator’s guide – a simple guiding package, including promising practices, presentation materials, other related resources and a direct link to the vignette “An Episode in Mrs. Lee’s Home: Prevent neglect and potential abuse”.
- S.U.C.C.E.S.S. uploaded the vignette on YouTube. The video was requested by participants and volunteers for sharing and for education purposes.
Lessons Learned:
- Must include both Mandarin and Cantonese materials and presenters.
- Be mindful of terminology when talking about elder abuse. Make culturally-appropriate, rather than literal, translations, use descriptive words and case scenarios to contextualize.
- Emphasize the existence of third-party resources (e.g., Seniors Abuse and Information Line and SUCCESS counselling).
- Need to consult with seniors for the development of resources.
- Having a panel discussion with different experts helps audiences to see topics from different angles.
- Maintain close relationships with the media to keep them involved in promoting elder abuse awareness.
- Collect and review feedback from participants of previous workshops to improve targeting and methodology.
- A significant amount of time is needed for the production of a video.
Challenges:
- Elder abuse is still considered a taboo topic in the Chinese community. Many older adults and family members preferred to talk with people whom they trusted (e.g., friends, family).
- Culturally appropriate, Chinese-language resources are still limited within the community.
- A majority of older adults do not understand or have a limited ability to understand English. Service providers need to provide interpretation services and help older adults understand the resources.
For Sustainability:
- The workshop presentations, resource materials and videos can be used by service providers to continue raising public awareness about elder abuse in Chinese communities.
- BCCEAS will update workshop materials as needed, and provide Chinese-speaking presentations as requested.
- S.U.C.C.E.S.S. will continue to serve older adults in the local Chinese community by incorporating experiences accumulated in this project.
- The learnings from this project can be disseminated through direct sharing of the facilitator’s guide or online sharing by Dropbox or online links.
- The next step should be to educate the Chinese general public about elder abuse.
- These learnings can be disseminated to other ethnocultural groups also.
- There are two key needs for seniors who experience elder abuse:
- A senior support group where seniors can get together to share their challenges with others who they trust.
- Educational sessions for seniors – one-on-one or group sessions to learn about how they can protect themselves.