Being a Good Neighbor - How to Spot and Respond to Scams and Exploitation in Your Community

Being a Good Neighbor is coming to the Spades Park Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library on Wednesday, November 11, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM. It's an educational session on how to spot and respond to scams and exploitation in the community, and it's part of the library's financial literacy programming. The session is aimed at seniors and adults, so it's a good one to keep in mind if you've got parents or older neighbors who could use a refresher on what to watch out for.

Leading the talk is a staff attorney from the LAVA Project—Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults—which is a part of Indiana Legal Services. Having a lawyer on hand means you're getting the legal side of things straight from someone who works with these cases, rather than just general advice. The focus is on spotting the red flags of scams and knowing how to respond when you or someone you know is being targeted.

The venue itself has some history worth knowing. The Spades Park Branch was built with a $120,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and opened in 1912, six months after the East Washington Branch—the city's other remaining Carnegie Library. It's a 7,500-square-foot branch that went through a $610,000 renovation in 1987 and celebrated its centenary in 2012. It's a quiet, familiar spot on the city's west side, which fits the kind of community-focused session this is.

If you're planning to go, the details are simple: Wednesday, November 11, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at the Spades Park Branch, 1801 Nowland Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46201. It's a one-hour session, so you can drop in, get the information, and be back on your way before lunch.