HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—Connecticut's Office of the Attorney General launched a new hotline in collaboration with the Coalition for Elder Justice and various state departments to help older adults find the assistance they need.
The Elder Justice Hotline provides Connecticut's older residents with information, resources, services and support for a wide range of issues, including workplace age-based discrimination, fraud or scams, and elder abuse/neglect/exploitation.
"Our state is fortunate because we have a multitude of resources for older adults and the folks that care for them," Commissioner Amy Porter of the Department of Aging and Disability Services said. "The challenge though, sometimes, is figuring out, 'Where do you start?' 'Which agency do you call?'"
The hotline will direct callers to the state agency that is best suited to address their concerns, Deputy Attorney General Margaret Chappel said.
The ability to connect older adults to vetted services is an essential tool that this hotline provides, Long Term Care Ombudsman Mairead Painter said.
"That's so important because sometimes people give up. If you have to call a lot of numbers, they'll stop moving something and just figure they can't get to the other side of it," Painter said.
Director of Social Work Services Dorian Long anticipates a significant number of calls coming through the hotline given her department's numbers on elder maltreatment.
According to Long, the Department of Social Services administered support to nearly 8,000 clients last year and received allegations in excess of 11,000 including neglect, financial exploitation, physical abuse, etc.
The office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman received about 5,000 formal complaints last year, Painter said, as well as numerous calls and consults for information that required the office to connect residents to other agencies.
The hotline can be reached Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 860-808-5555. Additional information is available on the attorney general's website.