Alaska’s senior population is growing fast, and the number of complaints to the state agency tasked with protecting vulnerable adult Alaskans of all ages is growing too.

Adult Protective Services is holding two free resource fairs to share information with vulnerable adults, families, caregivers and service providers in Fairbanks and Anchorage this month. Both events run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Friday.

Anchorage Resource Fair

The Anchorage fair will be Sept. 20 in the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, 1300 E. 19th Ave. There will be agency and resource booths, and two presentations. “Vulnerable Adult Fraud in Alaska” runs from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Speakers are Scott Sterling of the Office of Elder Fraud & Assistance, and Andrew Peterson, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. “DART: Disability Abuse Response Team in Anchorage” runs from 2 to 3 p.m. Speakers are Tracy Faas, The Arc of Anchorage; Virginia McCaslin, AWAIC, and Christine King, UAA Center for Human Development, Disability Justice Initiative.

Fairbanks

The Fairbanks fair will be Sept. 27 in the Noel Wien Public Library, 1215 Cowles St. There will be agency and resource booths, and three presentations. Joan Adams, Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska, will present “Alzheimer’s and Dementia: What’s the story?” from 11 to 11:45 a.m. A presentation on Adult Protective Services in Alaska runs from 12 to 12:45 p.m. Speakers are Barbara Dick, Ivory McDaniel and Susan Spriggs, all from Adult Protective Services. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., Scott Sterling, Office of Elder Fraud & Assistance, will speak on elder fraud.

For details and maps, visit http://dhss.alaska.gov/dsds/Pages/aps/resource-fair.aspx (or do a Web search on Alaska Adult Protective Services.) If you can’t attend but would like more information, email hss.aps@alaska.gov or fax 907-269-3648 and Adult Protective Services will be happy to send you materials or to arrange a speaker.