Pictured left to right: Officer Debi Nuchols from the Knoxville Police Department Special Crimes Unit, which handles Elder Abuse; 2nd District Commissioner Michele Carringer and her granddaughter; Nancy Bowman, Owner/Assoc. Administrator/DON Serene Manor; Shannon McDonald, Field Representative with the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation; Rita Griffin, Administrator, Serene Manor; Natalie Hall, Charles Lewis, Tanya Cooke, and Dean LaRue of Commercial Bank. Also attended were Meg Collins from the Tennessee Healthcare Association, several other bank employees, a member of the facility's advisory board, and many of Serene Manor's staff.

KNOXVILLE - Thanks to Commercial Bank, based in Harrogate, Tenn., residents of Serene Manor in Knoxville will live in a safer and even more secure environment. Commercial Bank recently joined CRA Partners and is helping vulnerable seniors by funding the Senior Crimestoppers program to protect those who live and work in this local care facility.

CRA Partners, powered by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, is a national organization that guarantees banks federally mandated CRA credit through the operation of the turn-key Senior Crimestoppers program providing safe and secure living environments for our nation’s low to moderate income seniors. Through flexible funding options such as CRA-qualified community development loans, investments or grants, banks provide the program in senior housing facilities, HUD communities and state Veterans homes while garnering positive public relations exposure in their communities.

Crime against the elderly in our society is a longstanding, constant battle that can be reduced and prevented through the operation of the Senior Crimestoppers program in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Senior Crimestoppers is a coordinated set of components that work together to create a zero tolerance to crime platform in senior housing facilities. Components include cash rewards up to $1,000 paid anonymously for information about wrongdoing of any kind, personal lockboxes for the residents, and effective, on-going education and training for staff members and residents. Senior Crimestoppers has reduced all aspects of crime in participating facilities by 94%.

“Senior Crimestoppers is a way for an administrator to further enhance the lives of the residents they serve. They all work very hard to provide safe, secure, comfortable living environments and their desire to implement the program is just one more example of this. Implementing this program does not mean that the facility currently has a crime problem, but that the administrator is proactively finding a way to keep problems from occurring in the future,” said Terry Rooker, president of Senior Crimestoppers.

Charles Lewis, Executive VP of Commercial Bank states, “Commercial Bank is a neighborhood bank, committed to serving our communities. We are pleased to collaborate with Serene Manor and The Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation to bring this program to the residents and staff of this facility. As part of our continual outreach to our communities, we are excited to be an advocate for our senior citizens. We are confident that this program will enhance Serene Manor’s efforts to maintain security and peace of mind for residents, family, and staff.”

Senior Crimestoppers Charter Presentation was held held on Tuesday, June 13th, at Serene Manor. Dean LaRue of Commercial Bank presented Nancy Bowman and Rita Griffin with a plaque to hang at the entrance of the facility. LaRue explained that one of the benefits of banking with a neighborhood bank is that the extra dollars stay in your local community.

If you would like to learn more about Commercial Bank, visit the website at www.cbtn.com or join one of the many conversations through their social media channels by joining LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Senior Crimestoppers is a multi-faceted, crime prevention program that protects the elderly from theft, abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, and is administered by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation. For more information about the program, visit www.SeniorCrimestoppers.com or call 800-529-9096.

Not only does Senior Crimestoppers impact the lives of the elderly in long-term care facilities, they also impact the community outside of the long-term care industry through the CRA-qualified securities purchased on behalf of bank partners. As March 2016 the community impact has reached approximately $283 million which goes to provide affordable home mortgages for low-to-moderate income families, affordable healthcare services, small business development providing job creation, as well as other economic development projects. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.SHCPFoundation.org.