Manningham City Council recognised World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on Monday 15 June with an afternoon tea and a guest speaker from the Eastern Community Legal Centre to help raise the profile of this important issue. The event was hosted by Councillor Meg Downie and attended by senior management of Council and community members representing senior groups and community organisations based in Manningham.
This year Council supported a group of older Manningham residents and five seniors’ groups who volunteered their time, effort and in many cases their wool to create an art installation for the Manningham City Municipal Offices in Doncaster. The installation represented a tranquil garden setting and sent a strong message of hope that as a community “we can stop elder abuse”. Participants knitted more than 200 wool squares to form the trees and pathways and over 600 individual flowers for the garden including daffodils, roses, fuchsias and daisies. Many conversations about elder abuse were had as participants worked together to create the installation. The installation remained for several weeks over June and July and sent a message to anybody coming to council that “we can stop elder abuse”.
To further raise awareness, Council distributed over 500 purple ribbons and 500 book marks to staff and the wider community. Information regarding elder abuse and where to get support was widely distributed and made available to staff and the public. There was a write up in the Manningham Leader on 22 June 2015 and an article in Manningham Council’s publication Manningham Matters in July.