New Challenges.

As we grow older we face new challenges and this is especially true if you are LGBTQ+.

Older LGBTQ adults face unique challenges in giving and receiving care
American Heart Association News
By Laura Williamson
January 25, 2023


Every morning, Luther Moxley helps his partner of 35 years, Wayne Curtis, out of bed and into his wheelchair. Curtis, who has Parkinson's disease and is partially blind, washes himself seated in the shower, but he needs Moxley to dry him and help him back into his chair.

Moxley makes their meals and cuts Curtis' food into bite-sized pieces. He manages the household and does the grocery shopping. He takes Curtis to and from the doctor and anywhere else he needs to go. But in truth, they rarely go anywhere anymore.

"We're pretty much isolated," said Moxley, 74, who cares for 83-year-old Curtis full time. Though Curtis has some family, there are none who will help. The couple has no children. Moxley, who has no surviving family, wonders what will happen to him should he someday need care of his own.

"I guess I would have to go into some kind of assisted living," he said.

Their situation is all too common among people who identify as LGBTQ, whose caretaking needs are rising as the population ages. The National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging estimates that by 2030, there will be 7 million U.S. adults 65 and older who identify as LGBTQ.

The needs of the older community are finally being recognized and slowly resources are starting to help.

Many senior LGBTQ people are starting to wonder if they have to go back into the closet if they need assistance in their homes or in long term care facilities.

According to a 2021 AARP survey, 41% of LGBTQ adults ages 45 and older were at least somewhat worried about having to hide their LGBTQ identity to access housing for older adults. Worry was most common among transgender and nonbinary adults, with 58% expressing concern.

Many seniors have no idea what is available for them let alone how to access it and it is not just a LGBTQ+ problem many old adults never had to access assistance so they don’t even know where to begin.

Housing for older queers is lagging. New York just stepped up
By 2030, about 7 million LGBTQ+ people will be aged 65 or older.
LGBTQ Nation
By Greg Owen Monday
January 30, 2023


In her first State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul made history with a commitment to direct state resources to help fund housing for older New Yorkers.

Hochul directed New York State’s Homes and Community Renewal agency (HCR) to provide funding specifically for affordable housing projects that are affirming for New Yorkers among the state’s 800,000+ older LGBTQ+ population.

Only two housing developments in New York serve the community: Stonewall House in Brooklyn and Crotona Pride House in the Bronx. Those projects were developed and funded by SAGE, the LGBTQ+ elders advocacy group, along with BFC Partners and HELP USA.

The two developments are models for reducing housing insecurity and providing community support, dramatically improving the lives of low-to-moderate income and formerly unhoused older New Yorkers.

[…]

Older people face rampant discrimination when seeking a place to live: 34% of LGBTQ older people and 54% of transgender and gender nonconforming elders fear having to deny their identity to land adequate housing. A ten-state study from the Equal Rights Center found 48% of same-sex couples experienced overt discrimination in the housing application process compared to their different-sex partnered peers.

While the demand for affirming housing is high — 90% of older LGBTQ+ Americans are extremely, very, or somewhat interested in obtaining it — supply is low: only 13 states and Washington, DC, have housing developments targeting older LGBTQ+ Americans. 

I have looked into something like that for Connecticut but there is one major drawback… In New York City there are 8.5 million in about in roughly 300 square miles, in Connecticut there are 3.6 million people in about 5,543 square miles. Now doing a little math, the population density of New York City is around 30,000 people per square mile and Connecticut is about 640 people per square mile! If the LGBTQ+ population is around 10% then there are 3,000 per square mile in NYC while in CT it is only 64. We just don’t have the population density to support senior LGBTQ+ housing. 

So what are the alternatives? Individual long term care facilities, senior centers need to address our population and also the needs of other minorities. Here in Connecticut we have started to address the issues of the senior LGBTQ+ community here but we still have a long way to go.