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market; so it means that our seniors travel 2 to 3 miles for grocery shopping. The same thing holds true in other areas.

There are certain days in the week, certain hours in the day transportation is very, very slow on our streets. Most of our senior citizens don't drive. Most of them are on fixed incomes, which means an impossibility to take taxicabs. So, therefore, they are prey to the person who wishes to snatch a bag.

In discussing this the other day, I related our high drug problem with our crime wave of purse snatching and robbery of our elderly. I also attributed the fact that many of our seniors have a hearing problem. Because of the high cost of hearing aids, for example, many persons cannot afford this kind of health service; therefore, they do not hear an intruder approaching them.

Senator Pell talked about our community becoming a white-haired Afroed, and long-haired community. I thought this was rather unique in that most of us attribute the white youth with long hair as being a hippie, and we are afraid of them; and we attribute the black youth with the Afro being a Panther, and we are afraid of them. Actually, it isn't judging a book by its cover; it isn't always these kinds of persons that are robbing us.

I don't know how long Senator Pell wishes me to go on with this, but I could go on a little more maybe after Miss Marshall has given her experience personally and then wrap up from my end.

Senator PELL. We want to run right down the panel. First Miss Marshall and then we will move on from there.

STATEMENT OF HANNAH MARSHALL, PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Miss MARSHALL. I was going to the market to cash my check, and I didn't have very much money in my pocketbook, all I had actually was $28.30. So then after I cashed my check I had some money in my pocketbook saved to pay my rent, and my rent was $50. So then, before I got home, I had some groceries and a few things.

MONEY AND GROCERIES STOLEN ON STREET

So then a little boy in the store, he was in the candy department, so the grocery man said he has some candy; and then two more boys were standing outside the door. I didn't see those two boys. And when I come out and walking home, I got almost home to Sunset Village, and then three boys sneaked up behind me, my bag was gone, all my money and my groceries and everything was in there and I couldn't pay my rent. And 2 weeks later three more boys were trying to break in my house. So I was getting ready to go to bed and I got on the phone and I called up my daughter. She said, "Well, ma, this is a bad thing, that's all this

is."

So, then I go to the phone and call the police. The police was so long in coming, and so then my daughter got in touch with my daughter-in-law and she said, "Well, ma, you have to have someone at your house." And she got dressed and came. And still the cops didn't come. So I come downstairs and I was scared to death. And so then the boys came back again and they said, "I will cut the door, I will cut the screen on the door." And so finally, in the meantime, my daughter-in

law came and I rushed out the door and three boys came right straight back again and watched me get in the car, my daughter-in-law's car. And so then she drove up the street and the cop was up there, still he didn't come.

Then the cop came and so he said, "What can we do?" So I said to him, I said, "I am not going to go back and let the three boys come in with a knife." So then I rushed out the door and I went to my daughter-in-law and stayed overnight. And then she come over and spent a couple of nights with me. Then I got scared. I am not living there anymore. I am living at 97 Superior Street.

Senator PELL. Thank you very much indeed, Miss Marshall. I think now if we can move on to Miss Ruth Lamoreux and Mrs. Sadie Gildea. Miss Lamoreux is the director of the Providence Senior Citizens Center at 51 Empire Street, and she is accompanied by one of the Providence senior citizens. Miss Lamoreux.

STATEMENT OF RUTH LAMOREUX, DIRECTOR OF THE PROVIDENCE SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER

Miss LAMOREUX. Thank you, Senator Pell. I am here just to give a few instances of some of the things that I know have happened to the senior citizens. Even though we take precautions and our program is based on trying to take the fears away from the senior citizens, we still continue to have problems.

For instance, we had a 2-day trip to New York City. We planned that trip so the seniors would be back before dark. As we got off the bus, it was just dusk. Two of our senior citizens were crossing the street when two fellows grabbed their bags. One of the seniors was just lagging a little behind and she hollered.

Now, there were people around, but the question is people do not like to get involved in anything, so they just sat there watching, or stood there watching these fellows run off with the bag. Now, I know it is a problem, I know we all hate to get involved in things that might end up wrong for us, but still our senior citizens need protection.

Another incident is Margaret Caldwell, 89-year-old, who is one of the oldest members of our center, and I think we are all very familiar with this case as it was well publicized. Her home had been broken into a number of times in the Chad Brown Housing Area. Even with heavy screening in the windows and double locks on the doors her home was broken into, I think, either three or four times.

We have seniors that come to the center and while they are in the center, their houses are broken into. And this is because they live alone. Evidently, their homes are watched to see what the person's pattern is, and when they see a person go out on Tuesday at 1 o'clock and they don't come back until 4 o'clock, they will say, "Well, no one's going to be home in this house; we can go in and take what we want.”

ELDERLY AFFECTED MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY BY ROBBERIES

People have got to realize these instances, not only the material things they lose, but what it does to the individual mentally and physically. We also had another lady who lived at Roger Williams Housing and she was knocked down and her pocketbook taken on

three different occasions. After the last one she was missing from the center and she was one who never missed, she was always there. We checked to find out she was ill. People attribute her death to being knocked down for her pocketbook, and on one incident she only had 18 cents in her bag.

Now, I think Mrs. Gildea can tell of the things that have happened to her and she's avoided some of this by speaking out to individuals. I know it takes an awful lot of courage, but even to the senior citizen we have got to help one another. You know, our program is geared because of fear. We are only open at our center from 9 o'clock to 4 o'clock, and if you visited us you would note that between 3 and 4 o'clock, people pick up their things and get ready to go home, because they do not want to be out after the sun sets.

I think it is a shame that we can't have a few evening programs without the senior citizen having these fears. Thank you very, very much, indeed.

Mrs. Gildea will now cite a few instances.

STATEMENT OF SADIE GILDEA, PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Mrs. GILDEA. Mine are very minor compared to what Miss Lamoreux had to offer, but I come to the center of Providence quite often and I have had several experiences which other people wouldn't think too much about. I, at Tilden and Thurber's, on the Mathewson Street side, met two girls holding up a lady for money, which people have told me I was foolish to do, I got in between and asked the girls, "What are you doing to this woman? Are you asking her for money?"

And this younger one said, "Yes." And I said to the woman, "Don't give them any money. I will go right around the corner and get the policeman." I didn't know where the policeman was, but I said, "What are you going to do with the money?" They said they were going to the show, but that's the start.

The other day I came to Mathewson Street, three boys had rocks stoning an elderly man, and I went to the boys and said, "How would you like somebody to do that to your father?" I was with another lady and she left me because she was afraid. And I found the boys and the man stood there and I went around the corner of Grace Church and on the steps there was a young man sitting, and he said to me, "What is the matter?" And I said, "Those three boys there are stoning an elderly man on Mathewson Street, and he is coming through, you will see him in a minute.”

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He said to me, "Please go along and don't bother, I will take over.' And he followed those boys and chased them and they went down Westminster Street through the Mall and went between Shepard's and Cherry's because I stood on the steps of Grace Church to see where they went. So when I was coming home the other day, I have another complaint, bicycles on the Mall. They won't let you by. You get up against the window, and this day they had a war at the corner of Shepard's on one of those big planters that they have in the center, and wouldn't let us go by.

They said, "Go ahead, you are old enough to walk around the middle of the road." And finally, I got the younger one at the end, I

thought I could maybe get by him, and I pushed the bicycle and got by, but he closed it up after I left.

So those are the minor things that grow into big things and that's why I am telling you.

Senator PELL. Thank you very much.

Miss LAMOREUX. We have run into a number of people who have had instances happen to them of either their pocketbook being snatched or their homes being broken into, and they have a fear to call the police because they are afraid there will be reprisals, and I think that's terrible. For instance, when I was checking out my list of people, I contacted individuals, and some of them did not want it mentioned because they were afraid if this got publicized, that the same thing would happen all over again.

Senator. PELL. Thank you. Now Mrs. Connie Carter will be the next witness, and she is accompanied by Mr. Arthur Conroy. Mrs. Carter is field aide for Project SECAP, and Mr. Conroy is one of her citizenclients and has been robbed twice himself. I will ask Mrs. Carter to speak first.

STATEMENT OF CONNIE CARTER, FIELD AIDE FOR PROJECT SECAP

Mrs. CARTER. Thank you, Senator Pell. My name is Connie Carter. I am a field aide for Project SECAP. SECAP has a staff of nine: six aides, one director, and one assistant director, and one clerk-typist, which serve the senior citizens of the model cities Martel neighborhood. At present, we are providing direct services to 406 persons. We have contact with over 200 persons that presently do not need our services, but know that we are on call if they should need us.

All of the following instances are fully documented and can be checked at any time. In providing health care to senior citizens, we have discovered many of the problems and problem areas. A most serious one is the victim of senior citizens being alone on the streets because of the crime atmosphere in the neighborhood. Upon request, within 5 minutes I can list 17 people who were attacked, robbed, and beaten. One of these situations concerns a lady who was attacked by four females as she was waiting for us to pick her up.

One of the victims became fed up with the situation, moved out of the neighborhood. When she moved out, she found out the neighborhood in which she moved to, they did not provide the type of services that we provide, so she moved back. Our experience has indicated that the need for transportation is a paramount problem and getting senior citizens to these points that they can get health care.

ROBBED WHILE DELIVERING FOOD STAMPS

Three days a week we have the Red Cross vehicle that we provide transportation to the doctors and the hospital clinics. We even have situations where persons have been fearful of using the rescue squad. A recent situation concerned one of our field aides on Friday who was attacked while she went to get food stamps for individuals, for the senior citizens, and cash their checks. As she was distributing the food stamps and the cashed checks for two of the senior citizens, she

and a volunteer worker were dragged out of the car, robbed, and both handbags were snatched. There is also

Senator PELL. Excuse me. I'd like to interrupt this to say Mrs. Person, by coincidence, is supposed to be on the next panel, so she is not here, and we understand the reason. If she is here, I congratulate her on her bravery in being here.

Mrs. CARTER. I have something else to say. There is also the problem of the press publishing the names and addresses of the victims, thereby giving the hoodlums an address at which to use the keys inevitiably found in the snatched bag.

To my right I have Mr. Conroy, who would like to tell the audience what happened to him.

STATEMENT OF ARTHUR CONROY, PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Mr. CONROY. Thank you, Senator. The main trouble with us seems to be in the mail boxes. They go down there, if you ain't right there when the mailman comes, you don't get any mail because somebody beats you to it. So I have been attacked down there, once I lost $16 and the next time I had no money; I don't carry any more money down there. And I think when the checks come the 1st of the month and the 16th of the month. I think we ought to be provided with a guard or something. Not only good for us, but good for the mail carrier, too. And I think when the checks come, there should be somebody there, security guard or someone there to take care of us.

Some time ago, since I lost that money, I have lost a couple of orders of food stamps since then, and it is all in the corridor. It happens right in my own house. I think if we had a guard there, somebody to keep an eye on them, I think we'd eliminate a lot of the stuff that's going on.

I called the police. The police did a good job. They go right after it. The second fellow took me and I didn't have any money, but he took me up the stairs and hit me right in back of the neck and I fell down. And I called the police about it and they had the fellow in 1 hour. He was a training school man that got away.

So I think if we had a little more protection for check day, I think it would be good for us and good for the mailman.

Senator PELL. Thank you very much, Mr. Conroy. So you all understand, you have been robbed twice, as I understand it, and you feel your main problem is through the mails?

Mr. CONROY. Senator, I want to state one little item. This place that Mrs. Carter belongs to is one of the best organizations you can get for the old people. They did they take wonderful care of us. They get our stamps and they do everything possible to help you out. And I think they sure deserve a little something good for them.

Senator PELL. Right. Thank you very much. I'd like to ask the audience if they would participate a bit here and would all those in the audience who either have been the victims of hooliganism or vandalism or seen instances of hooliganism or vandalism, the crime, violence, would you hold up your hands, all who have been either the victim or witness. Give us a feel of how prevalent it is among the older people. About 1 out of 6, I'd say, something of that sort.

Thank you very much. Now, Mrs. Eleanor Slater, a very old friend.

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