CULLMAN, Ala. – Render Aid Alabama hosted its annual event Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Friday, June 12, at the Traditions Bank event building.
Render Aid Co-founder Candie Cummings said more than 150 people attended the free event.
“This event is important because senior citizens are targets for a lot of scams as they are not always tech savvy,” Cummings said. “Many times the scammers are very convincing and make them think they owe money or have to pay something to not go to jail. They are often physically and mentally abused by caregivers and family members. Situations such as these need to be shared with our community.”
Cummings said if local seniors are the victims of a scam they should contact the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office or Cullman Police Department.
Speakers included Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker and Cullman County Sheriff-Elect Chad Whaley.
“There are a lot of professional crooks who target our seniors for ill-gotten gain,” said Crocker. “For that reason, I stressed the signs of elder abuse and how to report it. My purpose for speaking was to empower people with knowledge of what to look for if it happens to them, or if they see it happening to someone else. We need that, because getting justice is everybody’s business. I appreciate Render Aid, Traditions Bank and our other community partners for facilitating this event.”
Cummings said Elder Abuse Awareness Day is to let people know what elder abuse is and how to help when it is witnessed.
“Render Aid Alabama is a nonprofit whose mission is to normalize compassion for humanity,” she said. “We currently have two large events per year. One being Elder Abuse Awareness Day and the other is the Boo Festival. We started Render Aid Alabama after our dad passed in 2021 from elder abuse. We realized there wasn’t a law requiring people to report when they see someone in a life or death situation.”
To get more information, email renderaidalabama@gmail.com or visit
https://renderaidalabama.wixsite.com/renderaidalabama.
