KEY POINTS:
Faatupu McCarthy's home is an accumulation of unfinished business amid relics of the past and the dank creep of hopelessness.
All around are clothing and off-casts from relatives she meant to send to the needy in Western Samoa, but never did; cobwebbed jackets she once wore to church mixed with recycling bins brimming with empty Coca-Cola bottles.
McCarthy is about 80 _ neither she nor her family remember her exact age. Her home is an uninsulated Housing New Zealand tenement flat in Grey Lynn, Auckland. Her bed is a couch heaped with clothes in the lounge.
Her son and grandson live upstairs in the only inhabitable bedroom, which also holds a television and computer. The other bedroom is crammed with empty packaging and furniture. Her husband died years ago, and she has only one son.
Neighbours worry about her. She sweeps the road at night. She rummages through rubbish bins and invites strangers in for a cup of tea. The lounge ceiling has a leak that's been repaired at least twice this year after litter thrown on to the balcony above blocked the drain, causing the balcony to flood.
When the Herald on Sunday visited there was no heater in sight.
McCarthy's son, Tui, 45, says when he tries to tidy up, his mother makes a another mess. He seems at a loss to know what to do and reluctant to create a fuss.
Housing New Zealand told the Herald on Sunday it works closely with Age Concern, the hospital and social workers to organise support for struggling tenants.
But, until last week, McCarthy seemed to have fallen through the cracks. Her Housing New Zealand officer knew of her living conditions and neighbours' concerns, but it was only after the Herald on Sunday contacted the department and the district health board that concerted moves were made to get McCarthy the support to which she's entitled. Tui says she's been bumped up the queue for a single-storey flat.
McCarthy's case doesn't surprise Emsie Walters, of Age Concern in Auckland. She sees compulsive hoarding, self-neglect, people living alone _ lonely or depressed _ and people who become victims of neglect or abuse, usually at the hands of family members.
As family, friends and neighbours are increasingly being relied on to meet the gaps between home help and Meals on Wheels, experts predict elder abuse to become more widespread.
Says Marie Bennett of Age Concern: "We have an expectation that family will do what they can, but some won't, and a lot of people's families have gone, so that's not a realistic expectation. Home help coming in twice a week is not keeping a person safe."
An estimated 10,200 to 25,300 (2 to 5 per cent) of New Zealanders aged 65 or older suffer elder abuse, such as emotional/psychological, physical or financial.
The problem crosses all social boundaries with self-neglecting people, who refuse offers of help, muddying the waters.
Financial abuse ranges from outright theft of an elderly person's assets and income to not handling their finances in their best interests.
Walters' examples include an adult son selling his mother's house against her will; another son with enduring power of attorney changed his mother's lawyer to his and sold some of her paintings.
Says family lawyer Eugenie Laracy: "One thing we have to grapple with is when people become older or incapacitated, there are people who have the perception that control over that person's money automatically goes to the family."
Many cases go unreported. Often the elderly victims won't report abuse by family or friends because they don't want to incriminate the person.
If the Family Court finds a breach of trust or theft has occurred, it can remove the powers of attorney and order repayment.
A shift of focus toward keeping people in their homes as long as possible has given people greater autonomy and choice in their living arrangements.
Last year, the Government earmarked $400 million over four years for home support services.
But people without community services cards pay for these services, with one district health board offering a package of services for $350 a week.
Continuous support through a private agency costs upward of $1000 a week.
