On June 15, 2016, the Adult Protective & Community Services Branch East Hawaiʻi section staff came together with members of the Hawaiʻi County Prosecutor’s Office and Police Department to pass out purple ribbons and display purple banners at the Hawaiʻi County’s Aging & Disability Resource Center in Hilo. The gathering honored “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day,” but it marks a long-standing partnership in Hawaiʻi County between state and county agencies.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day began in 2006 with the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The day was again marked this year by a proclamation signed by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Through the initiative and continuing leadership of the Hawaiʻi County Prosecutor’s Office, an Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Program (EAPP) for Hawaiʻi County was established. Members of the EAPP Program consist of the Hawaiʻi Police-Criminal Investigation Divisions, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs – Regulated Industries Complaints Office, and the Department of Human Services’ Adult Protective & Community Service in East and West Hawaiʻi .
The establishment of the EAPP program has united agency efforts to improve the collaboration and coordination of investigation efforts and services to protect our elderly against abuse, neglect and exploitation.