Elder Abuse Prevention & Response Programme

The Programmes and services of Shanti Niwas are designed to approach elder abuse holistically and integrate a preventive and responsive approach.

Social Intervention Services:

• DOSTI
• KHUSHI Campaign
• Awareness Workshops
• Prevention
• Emergency Home
• Social Work Intervention
• Counselling
• Response
• Advocacy

KHUSHI - Elder Abuse & Neglect Prevention Services

As listed above, KHUSHI service was started as a strategy for preventing elder abuse by raising awareness. Awareness of what constitutes elder abuse and how these can be addressed is conducted on various platforms, such as the Yearly celebration of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day(June 15), workshop in our Day Programmes with seniors, Universities, NGOs and other such platforms.

Specific social work skills such as family group counselling, casework, advocacy with government departments are implemented while dealing with the elder abuse case. The case intervention is confidential and private respecting each client.

On 1st July 2017, the Ministry of Social Development(MSD) started the project called EARS(Elder Abuse Response Services) to deliver an immediate intervention service for the needs of vulnerable older people experiencing or at risk of experiencing abuse and neglect across New Zealand. The EARS project links with wider strategies of government such as Positive Agening Strategy and Age-Friendly Communities.

Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust was contracted by the MSD along with a consortium of Age Concern and Vaka Tua. Shanti Niwas delivers the project for South Asian communities in Auckland. We bring our wide range of experience of working on the issue through KHUSHI and DOSTI services and deliver the cultural-specific and confidential interventions to the clients. This project is collaborative in nature, taking various NGOs. police in a close working relationship on intervening in the cases.

So far, we have responded to 55 elder abuse cases and rehabilitated them back into society.