BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Abuse and exploitation of local senior citizens is rampant in Bexar County. Last year, Adult Protective Services confirmed almost 5,400 cases of elder abuse or neglect in the county.
Bexar County has the second-highest numbers in the state. Some local agencies are vowing to take action, much to the relief of seniors and their families.
“This is rampant. I was shocked,” Melissa Cross said. “I’ve even met other friends who have been through this.”
Cross said in 2020, her mother in San Antonio was financially exploited by hired caregivers.
“She was living off a marital trust and when she became ill with vascular dementia, she was taken advantage of,” Cross said.
Since her mother’s death, Cross has been advocating for more attention on these types of cases.
Bexar County Probate 2 Judge Veronica Vasquez sees those types of cases every day, which can include elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
“As a probate court judge, I see all forms of it. Nobody seems to talk about it,” Vasquez said, which is why she decided to be the one to talk about it.
In 2019, Vasquez and state Sen. Jose Menendez created the Bexar County Elder Abuse and Exploitation Task Force. It joined local agencies to close gaps and stop seniors from falling through the cracks.
However, the task force realized the cases needed to be addressed weekly, not monthly. There also needed to be dedicated workers to focus solely on those cases.
The county helped Vasquez apply for grants, and this month, they finally got one.
They secured a $186,000 grant for the Bexar County Senior Justice Assessment Center to bring laser focus to these cases. It will be just the second center of its kind in the state, modeled after Harris County’s.
The center will be staffed with two full-time social workers, which is where a lot of the grant money is going.
It would also include partners from a range of agencies, including the San Antonio Police Department, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Adult Protective Services and possibly social services like Meals on Wheels and the Diaper Bank.
Those agencies would make referrals to the center when a senior seems to be dealing with abuse, neglect or exploitation.
“Then at that point, it’s the roundtable discussion where it will be on that week’s docket, and then they go through, this is the person, this is the incident, what all at the table can we provide this person,” Vasquez explained.
They’ll offer seniors protective orders, victim compensation funds, help with food insecurity or even help cutting their grass.
News of the center’s approval filled Cross with gratitude.
“So that this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Cross said.
She has been a huge advocate for the center, communicating with Vasquez through the process.
Now that the grant has been approved, details are being ironed out. What is set in stone is that the SJAC would fall within the Bexar County Public Health Department.
Once details are set, the Bexar County Commissioners Court will need to approve the center before it begins service.
Read also:
