Many residents of Culver City, as well as others in neighboring communities know the Culver City Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department for its recreational programs and facilities.
But a component of the department and its commission also include human relations and community outreach. And the commission believes that an initiative that grew out of one of the commission’s subcommittees can become a conduit to activate that portion of its civic responsibilities.
The human relations subcommittee, comprised of commissioners Mary Anne Green and Vicki Daly Redholtz, has designed a series of events that brings a guest speaker to their monthly meetings to discuss a specific topic of interest for Culver City residents, as well as broader audiences. The first event, called “Words Matter,” took place in February, a month after six people were killed and 14 others, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson), were gravely wounded by gunfire at a Tucson community meeting.
The alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, is facing 49 federal charges.
Greene felt that a dialogue about how public discourse can have an adverse effect on communities was a very timely subject. “I thought that it was time to do something that was informational and positive at the same time for the public,” she said.
Greene said the commission’s role goes beyond maintaining park facilities, and cited the human relations aspect, which has always been part of its mission. “We thought [the human relations] should be much larger than what it has been in the past,” she said.
Daly Redholtz agrees. The series of discussions, she said, “is part of our community outreach, which is also part of human and community relations.”
Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a well-known Los Angeles author, political commentator and scholar was the guest speaker for the “Words Matter” discussion. “We decided that because words do matter, this should be a community dialogue,” Greene explained. “I thought Dr. Hutchinson did an excellent job presenting the topic.”
The audience is also encouraged to participate following the guest speaker’s presentation, and Greene said one of the evening’s most illuminating moments came when an elderly man told the audience about how words can leave emotional scars even after decades have transpired. He spoke about being bullied as a young boy and how the insults that he endured are still hurtful.
“That was when I realized what we say to each other is so important,” Greene recalled.
On June 7, the topic will be elder abuse. Ernie Powell, the policy director of AARP California and a friend of Daly Redholz, will be the guest speaker.
“I’m really excited about this event because it will be my last one as a commissioner,” said Daly Redholz, who is termed out as a parks and recreation commissioner but has been appointed to the city’s Civil Service Commission.
“I will be talking about [pending legislation], as well as tools available to families and older persons to protect against elder financial abuse,” Powell told the News.
On May 19, the state Assembly approved legislation designed to strengthen protection for seniors by a 78-0 vote. The author of Assembly Bill 332, Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D-Marina del Rey), lauded the bill as a first step to deter financial crimes against seniors.
“Some of California’s elderly and dependent adults are vulnerable and often fall prey to criminals looking to take advantage of them. The present penalties for financial crimes against the elderly are insufficient to deter repeat offenders,” Butler said in a statement. “My bill increases those fines. It is more important than ever to protect those who are least able to protect themselves.”
AB 332 will increase the fines from $1,000 to $2,500 for embezzlement, forgery, fraud or identity theft against an elder or dependent adult for a misdemeanor offense exceeding $950 committed under Penal Code Section 368. It also will enable a person to be charged with a felony for some theft crimes against the elderly and fined of up to $10,000 under this code section. The penalties are in addition to any jail time.
According to the California Department of Justice, during the last decade, there have been 4,735 convictions in the state for embezzlement, forgery, fraud and identity theft against elders and dependent adults.
“Seniors can be susceptible to identity theft, forgery, fraud and embezzlement. This legislation is a small step forward to protect seniors and dependent adults in California,” said Gary Passmore, the legislative coordinator for the Congress of California Seniors. “We commend Assemblywoman Butler for her legislation.”
In addition to Butler’s legislation, Powell said he will talk about two others bills: Senate Bill 586 by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica), which like AB 332, targets senior citizen financial abuse by defining and regulating the issuance of “signature stamps” by financial institutions, and Senate Bill 411, sponsored by state Sen. Curren Price (D-Culver City).
The latter bill seeks to regulate businesses that provide caregivers to seniors so that background checks are done and additional safeguards are in place.
According to the National Center of Elder Abuse, 23% of substantiated reports of mistreatment of older adults were financial exploitation, 17% were physical abuse and 32% caregiver neglect.
“Sadly, [the center] also reports that only one in 14 incidents come to the attention of authorities,” Powell lamented.
Daly Redholtz thinks it is important to highlight the fact that elder abuse is not limited to financial crimes. “There are so many aspects to this issue that people don’t think about,” she noted.
“We’re going to cover all aspects of elder abuse,” Greene added.
Powell said he would also bring a number of pamphlets on how to prevent and detect elder abuse, the risks involved with payday loans and maintaining financial security, among others.
The June 7 event will be held at 7 p.m. at the Culver City Senior Center, 4095 Overland Ave.
