Hundreds of thousands of seniors nationwide are abused, neglected, or exploited each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Massachusetts, reports of suspected elder abuse have increased by more than 1,000 each of the past five years, according to state figures. The surge has been linked to more seniors living at home and more adult children addicted to opioids exploiting parents and relatives.

South of Boston, groups are about to take to the streets to call attention to the growing problem.

Three Brockton organizations — Old Colony Elder Services, the Brockton Council on Aging, and HarborOne Bank of Brockton — are partnering to host a march against elder abuse at noon Wednesday.

The date has been recognized since 2006 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day by the World Health Organization and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

“The whole goal is to raise awareness about the fact that there is elder abuse,’’ said Diana DiGorgi, director of Old Colony Elder Services.

The organization, which serves seniors in 23 communities across Southeastern Massachusetts, has held events since 2010 to shed light on the issue, said Teresa Kourtz, the agency’s protective service and money management director. This year’s march, she added, will be the fourth such march.

Janice Fitzgerald, director of the Brockton Council on Aging, said her group signed on to the very first one in 2013 after receiving an e-mail about the number of elder abuse cases that go unreported. The WHO said authorities are alerted to only about 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse.

Many seniors who have been victimized, Fitzgerald said, find the topic difficult to discuss. That’s because those who take advantage of the elderly are often caregivers or family members, she said.

She said the council is working to become a safe space for these individuals, a place where they can come to have those difficult conversations with people — and an organization — they can trust.

“If it makes a difference in the life of one individual,’’ she said of the march, “then we’ve done our job.’’

Kourtz, the Old Colony staffer charged with filing reports on cases of elder abuse the agency encounters, said incidents can be reported to her office or to the state elder abuse hot line at 1-800-922-2275.

This year’s march will begin at the Brockton Council on Aging on Father Kenney Way. The procession will march to and from the Old Colony Elder Services office on Main Street, after which a lunch will be held. Free T-shirts will be available.

To RSVP, call 508-584-1561 ext. 302.

Bret Hauff can be reached at bret.hauff@globe.com. Follow him @b_hauff.