We All Are Getting Older

Those of the Stonewall generation are getting to their sunsets.

Will LGBT Retirees End Up Back In The Closet?
Forbes
By David Rae
June 5, 2019

What does your dream retirement look like? Your life experience living as part of the LGBTQ+ community will likely play a role in where you retire, how much money you have to spend in retirement, and even your healthcare needs as you age.  Sadly, homophobia may put a damper on part of your gay retirement plan.  It might even drive some part of the community back into the closet as we get older.
[…]
Since then, I’ve met people who’ve gone back into the closet after entering retirement communities.  Others living in fear of what will happen to them once their “family” is no longer able to keep an eye on them. Many may wonder if they will be able to afford Long Term Care, and if they will ever actually need it. All of this on top of the fear of ‘getting old’ which many of us are working hard to ensure this process happens as slows as possible. I’ve heard many gay men joke  that they are suffering from Peter Pan syndrome (I don’t wanna grow up….).
[…]
Older LGBT baby boomers are leading the way into retirement.  There is still a gargantuan need for more LGBT Senior Services. Not to mention more LGBT friendly housing options.  How to do we make sure no one is forced back into the closet in retirement?

Suppose you crossdress and you have to go into a Long Term Care [LTC] facility will you be able to do that?
Suppose you need a wig would you be able to get them in a LTC facility?

Today, there are an estimated 3 million LGBT people in the US over the age of 65, according to a 2014 Washington Post article.  The number of gay retirees is expected to more than double by the year 2030.  Keep in mind, these are only estimates, and the LGBT+ community is likely to be underestimated in many population counts.

Many of them will be trans and it is entirely different from being trans… when you are trans there is no hiding.

What the article does not cover (besides us) is home care.

What happens if you need a 24 hr. live-in healthcare provider?

Or just someone to take you shopping or to doctor’s appointments?

How will you be treated?

To answer some of these questions there well be a senior center discussion for LGBTQ+ seniors.

Laws, Legislation and Lunch!
LGBT Adults and Allies of the LGBT Community are invited to join the LGBT Moveable Senior Center—a partnership among Senior Centers in the Greater Hartford area to connect the LGBT community to mind-body-spirit, to each other and to services and supports for healthy aging!
Join us for an expert led discussion about current laws, legal issues and legislation that impact you.  Invited guests include:
Chris Erchull, GLAD Staff Attorney
Steven Hernandez, ED of CT Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity
State Representatives
YOU!

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Update... I just found this in today's Hartford Courant

A concern for LGBT boomers
Elder care options limited for many
By JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey Kaiser Health

Two years ago, nursing professor Kim Acquaviva asked a group of home-care nurses whether they thought she was going to hell for being a lesbian. It’s OK if you do, Acquaviva said, but is the afterlife within your scope of practice?

After Acquaviva’s talk, an older nurse announced she would change how she treats LGBT people under her care.

“I still think you’re going to hell, but I’m going to stop telling patients that,” the nurse told Acquaviva.

Acquaviva, a professor at George Washington University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., raised the example at a panel hosted by Kaiser Health News on inclusive care for LGBT seniors. It was one of many examples of discrimination that these older adults may face as they seek medical care.

LGBT baby boomers, dubbed “the Stonewall Generation,” came of age just as the 1969 New York uprising galvanized a push for gay rights. After living through an era of unprecedented social change, they’re facing new challenges as they grow old.

“Fifty years after Stonewall, there’s a new generation of LGBT elders who never thought they’d get an AARP card,” said Nii-Quartelai-Quartey, AARP’s senior adviser and national liaison on the issue who also participated in the panel.
[...]
“The fear of living in a situation where they can’t advocate for their own care and safety is terrifying,” said Hilary Meyer, chief enterprise and innovation officer for SAGE.