En Español | AARP in The Virgin Islands met with members of the Culture, Aging, Sports, Parks, and Youth Committee of the 35th Legislature of the Virgin Islands and other aging advocates yesterday, September 7, 2023, to discuss recommendations presented by AARP-VI to combat elder abuse and specifically to strengthen the anti-elder abuse law, 34 V.I.C., Act No. 8318, Elder & Dependent Adult Abuse Prevention Act of 2020. This meeting is one subsequent to a first in March 2023, composed of a working group that included US Virgin Islands government agencies, the private sector, and the community at large.
Español | AARP in The Virgin Islands is collaborating with AARP Puerto Rico to offer a series of fraud prevention awareness virtual sessions to educate residents in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on how to protect themselves and their loved ones from fraud and scams after a disaster, during the holiday season, and to recognize financial exploitation of elders.
As rebuilding continues in the hurricane-battered Virgin Islands, the AARP state office is cautioning residents to beware of storm-chasing scammers posing as home-repair contractors.
“The consumer has more power than they think,” stated Devin Carrington, the Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) at a recent Town Hall meeting on St. Thomas, “Too often we depend on the government to do everything, but we, as consumers need to work in solidarity and not allow businesses to provide us with products or services that are not up to standard.”