Rogue doorstep traders prey on elderly and vulnerable

West Yorkshire Trading Standards is urging residents to look out for rogue doorstep traders preying on elderly and vulnerable neighbours.

With as many as 170,000 incidents of doorstep crime occurring nationally each year, the National Consumer Week 2014 Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders campaign encourages neighbours, friends, families and carers to nominate themselves to discourage rogue traders. These traders often cold call and offer to carry-out repairs which are poor quality, unnecessary and charged at extortionate prices, sometimes even driving the victim to the bank to withdraw money or threatening them.

Trading Standards Institute Chief Executive Leon Livermore, said: “This campaign gives power back to communities that have been blighted by rogue traders and prevents those most at risk from becoming victims of doorstep crime.

“While Trading Standards officers strive to track down and prosecute rogue traders, community intervention is the first step in preventing detriment caused by doorstep crime. The Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders campaign highlights the impact community-spirit and the goodness of neighbours, friends and relatives can have in making Britain a safer place.”

Coun Bill Urry, of West Yorkshire Trading Standards Committee, said “Rogue traders are a huge problem across West Yorkshire and have a devastating effect on their victims. Through schemes such as National Consumer Week, we can educate people not to fall into the trap of these fraudsters and to look out for those who may be more vulnerable in our communities.”

The detriment of doorstep crime reaches beyond financial loss. It can cause a person’s mental health to deteriorate and in some cases, suffer physical harm. Neighbours, friends, relatives and carers can nominate themselves to help stop rogue doorstep traders operating in the area by joining a Nominated Neighbour scheme, taking away the trader’s ability to contact the resident directly.

Nominated neighbours give elderly or vulnerable members of the community a postcard for their door with the nominated neighbour’s address and phone number, informing cold-calling doorstep traders to speak with the nominated neighbour on the resident’s behalf. This prevents direct contact between the vulnerable resident and the trader, reducing the risk of doorstep crime taking place. Nominated Neighbours Postcards are available to download free of charge from the Trading Standards Institute website at http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/events/Materials.cfm.

The Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders campaign is a partnership between West Yorkshire Trading Standards, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI), Citizens Advice and the National Trading Standards Board.

David Lodge, Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service, said, “Rogue traders bring misery to thousands of households. It’s disgraceful that some traders rip people off on their own doorstep and preventing con artists from doing damage in the first place is crucial.

“We’ll continue to crack down on illegal practices in West Yorkshire, bring rogue traders to justice and help victims to move on. We want people to be on the lookout for doorstep crime in their community to help stop neighbours falling foul of rogues. Anyone who has been a victim of doorstep crime or knows of others that have been affected should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 040506”

Woman With Alzheimer's Seeks Help Finding Lost Dog

An elderly woman named Beverly needs your help finding her four-legged friend.

Buddy, a Maltese and Poodle mix, escaped from the backyard of Beverly’s home on Sunday. He was last seen on 26th Avenue in Hollywood.

Broward County Animal Care's Last Chance Dogs

Neighbors say they saw a man picking Buddy up and putting him in a car.

Beverly has Alzheimer's and her daughter recently had to move her from California to South Florida so she could be closer to her mom.

The family is desperate to find Buddy because he is the only one who can keep Beverly calm.

Buddy has a California tag with a blue collar.

If you have seen him, please contact Diane Ayers at 954-270-0503. A reward is being offered.

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Despite controversy, few major changes for agency overseeing care homes for elderly

CASTRO VALLEY -- Linda Uhrenholt sighs in exasperation when she recalls combing through the "fluff" to make an informed decision on a care home for her mother.

"It's like pulling teeth to get legitimate information," she said, recalling when she asked for the credentials of employees at a California care home, information she was later denied. "Facilities will tell you what you want to hear. A lot of people don't know the real story about a facility. It's only when you are there for a long time that you see what's really going on."

The lack of information Uhrenholt encountered has real consequences: A year ago, 19 residents were abandoned at Valley Springs Manor in Castro Valley when the facility was suddenly shuttered by the state Department of Social Services. Unbeknownst to those who lived there, the home had faced numerous violations over the years, but little of the facility's history was revealed until after it closed.

But despite a partially revamped website that provides the public with minimal information about senior care facilities in California and promises of enhancing department regulation of those facilities, few meaningful changes have been implemented in the last year at the state's Community Care Licensing division, which oversees residential care facilities for the elderly.

"Valley Springs Manor was a complete fiasco," said Pam Dickfoss, the new head of the department's Community Care Licensing division, which oversees care facilities throughout the state. "It was an eye-opening experience for us, and we learned a lot."

Still, critics of the department say the lessons learned haven't translated to action.

The department "talks about doing this or that and we look forward to what they say, but hell, nothing has changed," said Patricia McGinnis, executive director of the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. "Everything that is really needed isn't making the cut. It's like the department is saying 'Oh, I'm sorry; you might as well file your request in a black hole.'"

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, said she was disheartened when her bill, AB1571, failed to make it to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. The bill would have required the department to put a wide array of information about senior care facilities online, including inspection reports, fines levied against a facility and even general information on how much a care home would cost.

But concerns about the projected cost of implementing and maintaining such a database -- $1 million to get it going and $700,000 a year to maintain it -- halted the bill. Instead, the department posted very basic licensing information on each home, but no details on inspections or violations.

"People shouldn't have to go ... use Yelp when they need help," Eggman said of the lack of readily available information online from the department. "For safety's sake, and for transparency, having the information online is just good customer service."

In September, the department updated its website to offer some of the information Eggman would have required to be online in her bill, including the number of facility complaints and inspection visits. Still, it's not clear if or when other information, including how much a facility was fined in the last year or how many violations the facility has faced since it was licensed, would be made available online.

McGinnis attributes the lack of swift reform to a complicated, bureaucratic process that can drag out in the department.

But Dickfoss said time is exactly what is needed to make sure changes go over smoothly and that in order to raise the bar on expectations with facilities, it "takes time to do things right."

"We all want the same thing," Dickfoss said. "We need to have everyone at the table to ensure that we are going in the right direction. We've got a momentum going. We want a culture change."

Dickfoss has promised that after a year of learning, the department will have a greater focus on inspections and investigations, but apart from saying that changes will start unfold in 2015, Dickfoss declined to give specific dates on when people can start to see department reform.

But legislators want a timeline. Like Eggman, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said legislators will not stop talking about what can and should be done, including herself, even though she will term out in November.

Skinner's bill, which was also killed, would have required the department to complete investigations into complaints at elder care facilities in a timely manner. Currently, no such rule is in place.

"We still have a chance to get at what we're trying to achieve: to get operators of facilities to behave better and to get the department enforced better," Skinner said. "People's lives are at stake here."

McGinnis said she is not hopeful that there will be significant changes with the department in the coming year. She said of the nine bills that her organization co-sponsored that were signed into law, the "small victories" were still overwhelmed by the realization that the big changes are still needed and will still be difficult to achieve.

Uhrenholt ultimately chose a home for her mother in her native Ohio, after hearing terrifying tales from friends and witnessing inconsistent care for various family members in homes in California and in Ohio. The experience has left Uhrenholt saying she won't consider moving into a senior care facility one day.

"My husband and I have said 'Just shoot me,'" she said.

Metro asks for public’s help finding missing elderly woman

Metro Police are asking for the public help to find a missing elderly women.

Maria Perez, 77, was last seen at 4 p.m. Friday near the 5300 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard.

Perez is 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black and grey striped shirt and black pants.

A missing person report indicates Perez may be experiencing emotional distress and may need medical assistance.

Anyone with information regarding Perez's whereabouts can contact Metro Police at 702-828-3111 or the Missing Persons Detail during business hours at 702-828-2709.

Seniors looking after older ones can help elderly age in place: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: As Singapore's population ages, active seniors can play a role in providing care to the older ones. This can help the elderly age in place, said Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Sunday (Nov 2). The government had forecast that in 2030, the number of residents aged 65 years or older will hit 900,000.

Mr Shanmugam, who is also the MP for Nee Soon GRC, was speaking to reporters at Active Ageing Carnival in his constituency. He said: "Given that we are ageing so fast, we'll have to look at slightly senior citizens looking after even older people. Because the number of volunteers is going to be coming down, because people above 65 - many of them will continue working if they are healthy - we are encouraging them to become volunteers."

Over 1,000 residents participated in the carnival - an initiative to encourage active ageing and volunteerism among seniors. The carnival saw five senior volunteers - the oldest, aged 77 - receiving awards for their efforts in helping other seniors.

Nee Soon GRC has 298 volunteers who are above the age of 60. About 28 per cent of its residents are more than 50 years old. Khoo Sam Yak, a 77-year-old volunteer from Nee Soon South, said: "I am helping others, and I still have the strength and ability to do, so I will help. But I will not be able to contribute financially (chuckles). I find volunteering interesting and so I have been doing it, and it has been 24 years since I started."

Another volunteer who received the award is 68-year-old Vivien Ow, who also works part time at a nursing home. "My kids and grandchildren are all grown-ups, and I have time. I would like to use my time to join activities and help others. I feel happy when the seniors are happy, too," she said. "The younger volunteers typically take on tasks that are more laborious. For us seniors, we usually sit with the older folks and it helps, because we, being seniors ourselves, understand and know what they need."

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