Seniors at YFZ and Seniors in our Midst

O.K. Mom, I asked the question about the women past child bearing age in the Fundamentalist Morman church and I have heard nothing. That could mean one of several things: first, perhaps they are not computer literate, unlike you (ha!,ha!,ha!,) and don't know they are missing. So they have not turned themselves in. Or, which is more likely, they have been beamed off the planet at a secret site in Utah that is known only to the most devout of the followers all of whom are child-bearing age.

My question is: what about the seniors in our midst? What are we doing to help and preserve the freedom of these folks? You are asking about the folks we don't see. I wonder about the folks we do see. Everyday, a part of our job as a church is seeing that our older people are not scammed or manipulated, or forgotten by what remains of family and friends. The tragic fact is that when dementia runs it course--which is more common among the older folks in our population, they tend to withdraw and have less to do with less and less folks. If one does not know them, dementia can look pretty strange. So, these folks, cut off from everyone become targets for just about anything.

Despite our vigilance, we have had four or more of our folks scammed in the last few years and the symbiotic twin of CPS is APC. In the language of those who do not know the acronyms, that is Adult Protective Services. This erstwhile group is about as helpful as a $1.00 umbrella in a Katrina like hurricane. These folks are also funded by (surprise, surprise) the Legislature of Texas and they don't turn loose of money easily when it comes to social services. So seniors are evicted, live in rat infested homes, have their social security checks regularly stolen, and on and on and on.

If one is fortunate to get someone on the phone at APC, there is no guarantee anything will be done. One of my favorite experiences relates to a woman who has died, but at the time was living alone. She was estranged from much of her family. Her mental illness stretched back years. There was reason to believe she was being conned. She was delusional at times (unless you really do believe really big men were coming in her really small window with a gurney to take her to the hospital and doing their work so well, there was no trace of anything. Her home was a poster for the un- sanitary landfill. I called APS and was promised the case worker would make a visit and get back with me. I had been in the home several times, (once with my wife who seemed to be frightened of rats perched on filth sticking their tongues out at you with their fingers in their ears). Anyway, when the woman called back, she informed me that she found a perfectly rational person in acceptable surroundings, without any problems they could help with. My first thought was to reach through the phone line and strangle a poorly trained government employee who would not be missed by client or administration and might have met some secret mandate in the face of overwhelming need to cut employees. But I did not, mostly because logistics would not allow.

I asked her to read me the address. She did, and it was the right one. I asked how she determined the woman was in her right mind? She administered a three question exam, which this lady got two of three questions right. Apparently, she was not in one of her moods about remarking about the men coming through the window to carry her to the hospital. Basically, there was nothing they were going to do and I had wasted my time yet again.

Adult Protective Services is an agency that is designed to reassure Texans their senior adults are safe and being cared for. However, I believe they are not as safe as the women past child bearing age of the Fundamentalist Morman church. And who knows, it could be APS who are beaming our seniors off the planet from a secret location in Utah.