Building coordinated community responses for older adults to feel seen, informed and empowered

July 22, 2025

By Sarah A. Marrs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Gerontology, College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University

At the Virginia Center on Aging’s (VCoA) Elder Justice Learning and Research Hub, we’ve embarked on an innovative, person-centered, and multi-faceted approach to put heart, hope, and humanity at the center of ending elder mistreatment in Virginia and beyond. Under the direction of Dr. Sarah Marrs and Courtney O’Hara, the Elder Justice Learning and Research Hub brings together professionals from diverse fields – law enforcement, victim advocacy, social services, faith communities, criminal justice, housing, health care, aging services, and more – to explore this question: What would it look like if we really saw, heard, and valued older adults?

With a people-first, research-informed, and joyfully collaborative approach, we aim to:

1. Build and support cross-trained, coordinated community responses to elder mistreatment;
2. Offer hands-on training and consultation that helps teams do this work better together; and
3. Adapt elder mistreatment research into real-world learning that sticks—and sparks action.

With funding from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), we’re currently engaged in two exciting Elder Justice Innovation Grant projects that illustrate our commitment to this approach.

Project 1: Safety Through Connection
In partnership with the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), we developed training and tools that reduce barriers to recognizing and reporting elder abuse. This includes:

• A video-based, story-driven intervention for older adults, caregivers, and frontline workers;
• An interactive “Safety Connector”—a web-based tool that links people to care, integrated into Virginia’s No Wrong Door system.

Project 2: A New Model for Shelter & Support
With partners at the Span Center – the Greater Richmond Area Agency on Aging, Homeward – the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, and DARS, we’re piloting a trauma-informed, de-centralized elder shelter model in the Richmond area for adults 60+ who’ve experienced abuse or neglect—including those with disabilities. We’re building a full circle of care:

• Person-centered housing strategies
• Coordinated services across sectors
• Volunteer support teams
• Cross-sector training to reduce moral distress and boost collaboration

Our hope for this work? That people feel seen, informed, and empowered—and that referrals, trust, and connection across systems grow stronger.

Tackling elder mistreatment is complex, but together, we can all work to create systems and communities that are prepared to safeguard older adults and promote elder justice for all.