"The core concept of this project is to establish support service, to train carers and raise awareness towards elder maltreatment. The elder maltreatment is pervasive in all countries in the European Region. It is a growing concern, and estimates suggest that at least 4 million people experience elder maltreatment in any one year in the EU Region. The full scale of the problem is not properly understood, but it has far-reaching consequences for the mental and physical well-being of tens of millions of older people and, if left unchecked, may result in their premature death. Studies show that older people with dementia and with a disability that results in increased dependence on caregivers increases the risk of elder maltreatment.Key facts:•The European Region has a rapidly ageing population.•One third of the population of the European Region will be 60 years and older in 2050.•Many more older women than older men are in poverty.•The prevalence of elder maltreatment in the community is high (about 3%) and may be as high as 25% for older people with high support needs.Perpetration is most often carried out by caregivers who are partners, offspring or other relatives, although professional health and care workers and visitors can also be perpetrators in institutions or at home. Perpetrators are more likely to have mental health problems, especially depression or a history of violence, and may suffer from substance misuse, especially alcohol abuse.Why is elder maltreatment a health and social problem?•Humanitarian – it causes great suffering to individuals or groups within a society.•Functional – it threatens the fabric of society.•Cost – it drains resources and requires societal investment.•Social justice – some older people are vulnerable and their rights should be protected.•Social norms – regarding behaviour and expectations.•Prevalence – overall, many people suffer from elder maltreatment, and special services and programmes are needed.•Burden – a cause of premature death and disability.•Response – the health and care sectors are in the front line for prevention, detection and rehabilitation.The prevalence increases among people with disabilities, cognitive impairment and dependence.To combat this phenomenon, our project aims to establish a support service framework, as well as train carers on how to recognise such maltreatment, address it and take action, and how to raise awareness in the own community, and this with special attention for those older people with disabilities.Therefore, our project focuses on supporting social workers and carers to:•recognise any elderly maltreatment in their community or among their clientele.•address it•take action•but especially also raising awareness in the communitySocial marketing, mass media awareness raising and education programmes like our project aims to develop will be used to raise awareness of the effects of maltreatment and to promote a healthy ageing approach to overcome negative stereotyping. Engaging older people in these processes will be very important.Based on the above, the project will develop and approbate the following intellectual outputs:IO1: ECVET based training curriculum and training course on ""Recognising elder abuse""IO2: Mobile training app, including good practices databaseIO3: Policy recommendation report for the improvement of governmental support towards prevention of abuse towards elderly peopleTARGET GROUPS•Social workers•Caregivers•Doctors/GPsBENEFICIARIES•Older people (with disabilities)•Family of older people•Social servicesThe partnership is composed by:P1: Local municipality from Rodopi region (among vulnerable in terms of abuse towards elderly) in BulgariaP2: National association of professionals working with elderly people and those with disabilities all over BulgariaP3: Leading clinical psychological support unit from another vulnerable region of Sliven, BulgariaP4: Inclusion institute who is training social service personnel and caregivers from Istanbul, TurkeyP5: VET training provider in the social services field from Belgium"