INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Legal Services has received a $400,000 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to help seniors who have suffered abuse by battery, neglect, or financial exploitation. Funding for this grant was made available through the federal Victims of Crime Act.
The two-year Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults project funded by the grant will help seniors 60 years of age or older, statewide, recover or reduce the negative impact of abuse.
ILS’s civil legal assistance will help abused seniors:
• Avoid eviction from a nursing home or by a private landlord due to financial loss from exploitation
• Recover diverted funds suffered due to financial exploitation
* Repair their credit
• Seek a protective order from their abuser
• Change power of attorney, guardian, or conservator appointment
• Secure compensation from the Indiana Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund
• Receive counsel on family law matters and employment issues
The project’s two attorneys and paralegal will work closely with Indiana Adult Protective Services, which has the authority to take accused abusers to criminal court but cannot represent seniors in civil court on matters stemming from the abuse.
ILS estimates the new project will help 400 seniors during the grant’s term, which runs through Sept. 30, 2018.
If you are being abused, or if you think someone else is being abused, tell the police. If it is an emergency, dial 9-1-1. The Elder Abuse Hotline is: 1-800-992-6978.