Preventing and addressing elder abuse and building resilience in older adults requires a person-centered and trauma-informed approach. Older adults are exposed to multiple types of traumas over the lifetime as well as older adult-specific traumas, including the loss of spouse/partner, social isolation, chronic illness or disability, change in living environment, and elder abuse. Trauma affects individuals in different ways. This panel webinar will discuss the cumulative and complex trauma histories of diverse older adults, how trauma relates to elder abuse, and strategies to provide culturally responsive and trauma-informed support.

Speakers include: Laura Mosqueda (National Center on Elder Abuse at the Keck School of Medicine of USC), Sherrill Wayland (SAGE), Donna Benton (Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center), Lauren Pongan (Diverse Elders Coalition), Elizabeth Avent (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology), and Lori Smetanka (National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care)