A former California prosecutor is expected to address the subject of elder justice at forums being held on St. Thomas and St. Croix Thursday and Friday. Organizers of the Summit for Elder Justice hope to attract law enforcers, social workers, health care practitioners and community advocates to hear from attorney Paul Greenwood later this week.
Summit sessions, sponsored by the AARP – Virgin Islands State Chapter, hope to shed light on a pervasive and sometimes neglected problem affecting people age 60 and over.
Featured speaker Greenwood — a retired deputy district attorney — is credited for leading San Diego’s Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit for 22 years, and training thousands of professionals across the U.S. and abroad. He is credited with prosecuting over 750 elder abuse cases, including 10 murder cases, and advocating for legislative reforms.
Sessions will take place at the University of the Virgin Islands’ Medical Simulation Center on St. Croix and at the LaVerne Ragster Conference Center on St. Thomas.
An estimated 21.3% of people in the Virgin Islands are aged 65 and older. Efforts to keep elder abuse and available remedies in the public eye have been going on in the territory for close to 20 years, many of those earlier forums sponsored by the Human Services Department. Most recently, AARP-VI has partnered with local nonprofits to reach senior citizens and their caregivers.
