The more we spread the word about elder abuse, the more we know that there is still much more work to be done!  On Thursday we had the opportunity to meet with members of the Cincinnati Bar Association and provide some education about elder abuse, prevention, intervention and our Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at Cedar Village.  We had some great participation and good conversation and were able to distribute a lot of Shalom Center and Cedar Village materials.  Elder abuse is a serious issue that has between one and three million victims in this country annually.  It often goes undetected, unreported and untreated.  The more we all share information, the more we tune in to the signs and signals, the better off we will all be and the safer world we will create for all.  If you'd like more information on elder abuse prevention and the Shalom Center, check out our website at www.cedarvillage.org or call us at 888-295-7493.

We continue to do great work with Cedar Village Hospice and in the upcoming months we will be sharing our program with the wider community.  Hospice is not just for the last days and weeks of life.  It is for anyone with a diagnosis of six months or less to live.  Hospice is not about "giving up," it is about providing extra care, extra hands and extra support to both the patient and family to help them through this difficult part of life.  If you know someone who could benefit from a hospice assessment or from more information, please call us at 513-754-3100 for more information.

Our Interfaith Mission is getting closer-and the excitement is definitely building.  We have another meeting with our Otterbein partners next week and we are finalizing all of our travel plans.  One of our upcoming events will be the creation of a "Western Wall" at Cedar Village, an art project that will engage residents throughout our continuum.  The Western Wall replica will be developed over the course of the early Fall and it will be a place in which residents, visitors and staff can leave notes that they would like to have placed in the actual Wall in Jerusalem.  As we have done on our previous two missions, we will collect all of those notes, carry them with us and place them-with great care-in the Wall.  It is a privilege for us to be able to carry messages to that sacred place and we are thrilled to be creating the perfect site for collecting those messages!  If you'd like more information on the Interfaith Mission, or to participate in sponsoring part of this groundbreaking trip, please feel free to contact Sally Korkin, skorkin@cedarvillage.org and she will be delighted to assist you.

All the best,  

carol@cedarvillage.org