A Growing Problem…

…Elder care for LGBT people and especially for us. Many trans-people are starting to get to an age where they will need home care or cannot live on their own anymore and need to move to a senior center. For those who can integrate into the senior population it is not that much of a problem but for the rest of us it could be a major hurdle. Many of us also do not have family support which can lead to even more problems as we age.

I attend a photo club at the local senior center; I wondered if they picked up on the fact that I’m trans even though I never mentioned it. It seems like they did because at the last meeting one of them stumbled over pronouns.

There is an article in Colorlines by Aura Bogado titled “Taking Care of Transgender Elders” in the article she says,

Being transgender means one is more likely to suffer poverty, homelessness and criminalization. The violence carried out upon trans and gender non-conforming people lowers their life expectancy. But for those who do make it to middle age, there’s little in the way of resources for housing, employment and healthcare. As an active part of New York’s trans community, however, Tanya Walker says she got the support she needed. And a lot of it came through ALP [Audre Lorde Project].
[…]
ALP demonstrates what it means to actively support its elders. For some in the trans community that kind of action doesn’t always match up with what some call the mainstream gay rights narrative.

She is right in that we are more likely to be homeless, living in poverty and have a criminal record and also we need different care that cis-gender and LGB elders.

There is a good movie about LGBT elder care, “Gen Silent”

If you want to watch the movie and take part in a discussion about LGBT elder care, the movie will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist church in West Hartford on October 17 at 6:30. Also we have submitted a workshop proposal for the Connecticut’s Alzheimer's Association conference in April.