Beginning July first, the state Human Services Department will have one centralized phone number for people to report suspected elder abuse or neglect.
"What we're trying to do is make it easy for those that need to report or want to report instances of abuse, neglect or exploitation," said Michelle Gayette, the Department's vulnerable adult protective services administrator. "We're trying to have one number thet people can call to report all concerns, rather than 15 different numbers across the state."
Gayette says her division gets a number of calls daily.
"Most of the calls we get are about neglect," said Gayette. "But we are seeing an increase in financial exploitation."
And Gayette says there have been reports of physical abuse of the elderly. She says while the reports have increased, that’s no indication that the incidents are also increasing.
"It's kind of that North Dakota mentality," Gayette said. "We just pull up our boot straps, go about our business and look away, and everybody handles their own thing. But we are seeing more calls coming in."
That phone number is 1-855-462-5465.