On 15 June, various awareness-raising events were held for customers at Springboard schemes across London and Essex to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Springboard is part of Genesis Housing Group.

The aim of the day, organised by Action on Elder Abuse is to help bring greater recognition of the mistreatment of older adults, and draw attention to the need for appropriate action.

A variety of schemes took part in the day, some of which provide sheltered accommodation, some extra care, some for people with learning disabilities and some which provide supported housing. These included Kina House in Newham, Five Fields Court in Colchester, Essex, Hamilton Court in Chelmsford, and Trillo Court in Ilford, Essex.

Kina House in Newham, a scheme for people with learning disabilities owned by Eastwards Trust's, part of Springboard, was one of the participating schemes. Staff here explained the issues in various languages, and illustrated what abuse can look like.

Customers and older residents from the wider community attended and were given the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers to their concerns while display boards provided information.

After the Q&As, a quiz was held which showed that participants were aware of their rights and what action they could take if necessary. Purple balloons helped mark the importance of the day and purple awareness-raising ribbons were sold for £1 each with donations being made to the charity.

Reetha Fernando, aged 77, is a resident at Kina House in Newham. She said "This event was planned well. We are all so happy at how the staff translated the information into various languages for us, and provided translated leaflets. Also the staff's role play was very useful - I'm very grateful to them for making it so easy to understand. Because of this now I do feel much safer".

Maggie Evans, Marketing and Support Manager at Action on Elder Abuse, says "Springboard's support in helping us raise awareness of elder abuse has been fantastic. Their participation will go a long way toward helping us stress the need for people to understand what elder abuse is, and how it can be prevented."

Harton Bailey, Managing Director of Springboard, part of Genesis Housing Group, said "The enthusiasm shown by the staff at these Springboard schemes in ensuring that our customers are highly-informed about how to protect and safeguard themselves from possible abuse is a good illustration of Genesis' commitment to understanding our customers' needs and expectations."

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Photo caption (L-R): Eastwards Trust residents at Kina House - Mr Harbhajan Singh, Miss Alison Hazel, Mr Steven Haniff and Mr Jashbhai Patel

For further information about Springboard or Genesis Housing Group, please contact Diana Evans on 020 7563 0028 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads, Springboard, St Matthew housing associations and Eastwards Trust. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 40,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

Springboard joined Genesis Housing Group in April 2005 and currently supports more than 5,000 households in 24 local authority areas across London, Essex and Hertfordshire. In addition to general needs housing, shared ownership and leasehold properties, Springboard specialises in supported housing for older people and those with special needs.

Action on Elder Abuse is the lead coordinators for the UK for the fifth World Elder Abuse Awareness Day which took place on 15 June 2010. It is a national charity that works to protect, and prevent the abuse of, vulnerable older adults. It was the first charity to address these problems and is the only charity in the UK and in Ireland working exclusively on the issue today.