After two-year hiatus, free Celebration of Seniors event returns to Bristol County

After a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III’s office will once again hold its annual Bristol/Plymouth Celebration of Seniors conference this Friday, June 17, at White’s of Westport.

The half-day event, which will begin with a free breakfast for all attendees at 9 a.m., will feature numerous speakers on issues of importance to seniors and their caretakers. The conference will also be home to more than 60 vendors, all of whom provide resources to seniors in the region. The event is free and open to the public and will be a one stop shop for any senior, caretaker or loved one to get the important information they need to protect and care for an elder.

Speakers include DA Quinn, Taryn Lee-Turgeon of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Mark Waggoner of Commonwealth Care Alliance, Deb Daviau of NaviCare-Fallon Health Care and Attorney Jane Sullivan, an expert in the field of estate planning and elder law. The speaking program will run from 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 a.m. At the conclusion of the speaking portion of the conference, attendees will be free to browse the Senior Resource Fair, which will include more than 60 vendors and service providers.

After first being sworn in as district attorney in 2015, District Attorney Quinn immediately created a unique unit within the office devoted to elder abuse and elder financial exploitation prevention, prosecution and investigations. The unit is comprised of both investigators and prosecutors who have taken on complex elder financial abuse investigations. In addition, the unit, along with DA Quinn himself, have visited each senior center and council on aging in Bristol County to present a program aimed at equipping seniors with the knowledge they need to avoid becoming a victim of elder financial scams or elder abuse.

The event is being co-sponsored by the Town of Rochester Council on Aging and Coastline Elderly Services.