Elder Abuse Services, Inc. (EASI), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing shelter, victim advocacy, and coordinated case management services to victims of elder crime and abuse in the Fresno and Madera Counties. The concept of EASI originated in 2009 when a group of professors, some current and former students at California State University, Fresno, and community volunteers who had been working on local issues of victimization were discussing the needs of local elder abuse victims and gaps in services. This discussion evolved into a plan to create an emergency shelter for abused elders called the STAR (Seniors Transitioning to Assistance and Restoration) program. EASI is still seeking local community support, partnerships, and funding to hire key staff and to provide administrative support. We have since evolved our concept beyond just one shelter to operating a variety of sheltering options dedicated to serving abused elders in the Fresno and Madera Counties.

Fresno and Madera Counties lack existing resources that specifically serve victims of elder abuse who are in imminent risk of harm and in dire need of safe, confidentially located, emergency housing that includes supportive services. Currently these victims are sent to short-term facilities that are not designed to address the specific needs of these victims. Victims who are sent to these facilities report feeling out of place, isolated and warehoused in settings sometimes for young mothers and their children or the homeless. Staying with friends or relatives does not ensure their safety;  and often, does not promote accessing services that could end the violence, promote independent functioning and ensure a safe and permanent home with peace, dignity and safety. EASI is committed to finding a solution for this critical need in the Fresno and Madera Counties.

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In California, Sacramento is the only county where an elder abuse emergency shelter is operating, but it does not offer a Restorative Justice option which we have included as an option in our model. Thus, our project would be a model for California and could be replicated in other counties throughout California.

In developing our emergency sheltering model, EASI referred to a model that was successfully implemented in Edmonton and Waterloo in Canada. A distinct component of that model was the Restorative Justice concept, which not only allows for a range of care to be provided to these victims depending on their need, but also includes the option of repairing and restoring the relationship between the victim and the offender.  We are convinced that, if the violence can end, this additional feature would greatly enhance the elder’s long-term well-being, as these (usually family) relationships are likely to be important to the elder’s future functioning in a harmonious and safe environment.

Furthermore, at CSUF, Fresno Pacific, and Fresno City College undergraduate and graduate every semester students are choosing to invest their internship time learning and working with EASI. These students, studying in the fields of social work, counseling, gerontology, women’s studies, psychology, sociology, criminology and victimology, are contributing many volunteer hours to help make the EASI mission a reality.