We all need to be taken care of at some point in our lives. Our parents or guardians care for us when we are babies and later help ease our entrance into the cold, cruel world. We couldn’t do it alone.

Unfortunately, in too many cases the caring usually stops after we become adults. Along with our increasing years, our ability to care for ourselves decreases. Babies become children, then teens, then adults, and then “senior citizens.” Our lives often begin, and end in the care of others.

DeKalb and several other Northern Illinois counties recently were included in the Illinois Elder Abuse and Neglect Program, which is designed to combat mistreatment of older citizens. The program’s local director said eight to ten cases of elder abuse were reported each year in DeKalb for the last several years.

The program is prepared to treat cases of physical and emotional abuse as well as neglect and financial exploitation. Housing and in-home care are available to those senior citizens who need these services.

It is comforting to know that there is a program forming right here in the DeKalb area to help the elderly who are abused, a group sometimes forgotten about in modern U.S. society. Hopefully, this program will gain the financial support it needs to be effective.

Aside from the commendable aims of the program, it is disheartening to realize that so many individuals require these services. We should be there for our elderly when they need us—just like they were there for us for so many years.