In recognition of Elder Abuse Month in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the St. John community group Love City Strong invited members of the island’s senior centers to learn more. It turns out there was much to discover.
The outreach presentation aligns with efforts by local advocacy groups to strengthen existing laws in the territory. Government and nonprofit leaders say such steps are necessary to protect roughly one-fifth of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ population aged 65 and over.
At the National Park Service Lind Point Resource Management and Science Center, facilitator Keisha Richards shared a personal story of how elder abuse caught her by surprise. When an opportunity to purchase a local property appeared, Richards said she bought a house. Little did she know at the time that the house was still occupied.
Wanting to look over her new purchase, Richards said she approached the front door, key in hand. When she opened the door, she found an elderly man inside. The man asked her what she was doing coming into his house.
As the audience of about a dozen seniors listened, the facilitator explained: the homeowner deeded the property over to his son, who then sold it to Richards without telling his father. When she confronted the seller, saying she would never have bought the house if she knew his father was still living there, the seller said he sold it because he needed some cash.
The sale was legitimate, Richards said; the elderly homeowner legally transferred the property over to his son, and the son had the right to do as he pleased. But she held it up as an example of elder abuse, and she described the efforts she and her family made to relocate the father to another of his offspring living stateside.
The teller of this tale is also better known as the chief executive officer of the St. Thomas Federal Credit Union. From her official position, she said, she has seen clients come to her desk for help with financial problems linked to elder abuse. She added that her own experience caring for an aging parent has taught her much about how vulnerable elderly Virgin Islanders are and the ways that predators — often family members — exploit and sometimes harm them.
Over the course of three hours, participants in the Love City Strong workshop learned the definition of elder abuse; common ways elder abuse appears and some of the warning signs that relatives, friends and neighbors may be suffering from abuse.
And perhaps the most impactful message delivered at Wednesday’s workshop was why seniors are at risk for physical, financial, sexual abuse and neglect.
Close to 20,000 Virgin Islands residents fit this category of vulnerable adults, according to a joint statement from AARP-Virgin Islands, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Human Services Commissioner Averil George, and Attorney General Gordon Rhea.
“In the Virgin Islands, more than 21% of residents are aged 65 and older, making the Territory one of the fastest-aging communities in the Caribbean … In recent years, cases of abuse in the Territory – especially financial exploitation, neglect, and physical abuse – have risen, highlighting an urgent need for action across government, community organizations, and families,” the joint statement said.
The first elder abuse workshop was sponsored in 2023 on St. Thomas by AARP-Virgin Islands. In a statement recently released by the association, State Director Troy De Chabert-Schuster urged family members, caregivers, social service providers and communities to support changes to existing laws that would afford greater protection to seniors.
“ … we must work together to create a community where all Virgin Islanders — regardless of age or ability — are valued, respected, and safe. We ask Virgin Islanders to take an active role in protecting, preventing, and responding to abuse, neglect, and exploitation of our territory’s treasured population,” De Chabert-Schuster said.