Mayor Adams Announces City Hall, Municipal Buildings to be lit Purple to Honor World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

June 14, 2024

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that City Hall and several other municipal buildings will be lit purple tomorrow in honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. This marks the 18 th anniversary of the day, which was launched to raise global awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and demographic factors that contribute to elder abuse and neglect, as well as foster greater awareness and action against the mistreatment of older adults. 

“We recognize the challenges our older adults face and the need for their protection,” said Mayor Adams. “As we mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day tomorrow, we will reaffirm our commitment to justice, dignity, and respect for our elders, ensuring they live free from abuse and neglect. This is a topic that is not talked about often enough, and our older adults should never suffer in silence. In a city that values every generation, we stand united to support and safeguard our older residents.” 

“We have a vibrant community of nearly 1.8 million older adults across the five boroughs,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “Our administration established a Cabinet for Older Adults to make sure all city agencies are age-inclusive to work together to help ensure the safety and well-being of every older adult that calls New York City home. So, on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we light up city buildings in purple to shine a light on this issue and to elevate the place of every older adult around the world.”  

“World Elder Abuse Awareness Day underscores the urgent need to address and prevent the abuse of older adults,” said New York City Department for the Aging (NYC Aging) Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez. “Lamentably, each year, of the 10 percent of older adults abused, neglected, or exploited in their own homes, only 1 in 24 cases get reported or receive needed assistance. We urge any older adult who is experiencing abuse or anyone who knows of or has witnessed elder abuse to immediately get help. Elder abuse has no place in our city, in our country, or in the world.”  

While one in 10 U.S. adults over 60 has experienced some form of abuse, only one in 24 cases are reported.

Elder abuse touches many aspects of local communities and can include physical, psychological, financial, or sexual abuse, as well as neglect. The impact of elder abuse is far reaching. Premature death, suffering, and nursing home or hospital admittance increase with abuse. Financial abuse causes economic losses for older adults, families, and government programs, such as Medicaid. Caregivers can also suffer mental and physical health issues and economic loss because of elder abuse.  

Throughout the month of June, NYC Aging is hosting multiple events to raise awareness and to support victims of elder abuse.  

NYC Aging supports victims of elder abuse through three key initiatives:  

• Crisis Intervention and Safety Planning: NYC Aging partners with a  community-based program in each borough to provide elder abuse victims with crisis intervention and safety planning. The programs also help victims compile evidence, work with authorities, and seek compensation through the  New York state Office of Victim Services. 
• Providing Options to Elderly Clients Together (PROTECT): PROTECT partners with Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry to offer mental health treatment to victims. Community-based elder abuse agencies connect victims with clinicians who provide evidence-based treatment at safe locations. Launched by NYC Aging, PROTECT is part of the New York City Domestic Violence Task Force, co-led by the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence and the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice. 
• Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center: NYC Aging’s resource center helps older victims of crimes committed by strangers. Crimes can be financial, physical, emotional, and include neglect — the same crimes that are committed in elder abuse cases. 

In addition to City Hall, the following city buildings will be lit purple tomorrow at sundown: 

• Bronx County Courthouse: 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451 
• Brooklyn Borough Hall: 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 
• The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building: 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 
• Queens Borough Hall: 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY 11424  
• Staten Island Borough Hall: 10 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301 

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