Okay, Raise Your Hand If You Are Worried About Old Age?

My hands up.

And many of us are also worried as we get older, there is a movie about senior LGBTQ+ people called Gen Silent and it is something to think about.

Transgender seniors worry about retirement, old age amid wave of anti-trans legislation

PBS NewHour

By Andrew DeMillo, Lynne Sladky, and Laura Bargfeld

August 24, 2023

Rajee Narinesingh faced struggles throughout her life as a transgender woman, from workplace discrimination to the lasting effects of black market injections that scarred her face and caused chronic infections.

In spite of the roadblocks, the 56-year-old Florida actress and activist has seen growing acceptance since she first came out decades ago.

“If you see older transgender people, it shows the younger community that it’s possible I can have a life. I can live to an older age,” she said. “So I think that’s a very important thing.”

Now, as a wave of new state laws enacted this year limit transgender people’s rights, Narinesingh has new uncertainty about her own future as she ages.

“Every now and then I have like this thought, like, oh my God, if I end up in a nursing home, how are they going to treat me?” Narinesingh said.

Yeah, she isn’t the only one thinking that there are many out there thinking those same thoughts.

Transgender adults say they’re worried about finding welcoming spaces to live in their later years.

“I have friends that have retired and they’ve decided to move to retirement communities. And then, little by little, they’ve found that they’re not welcome there,” said Morgan Mayfaire, a transgender man and the executive director of TransSOCIAL, a Florida support and advocacy group.

The problem here in Connecticut is that there are only a small number of LGBTQ+ people here that need Long Term Care facilities. It would be nice if some would create a LGBTQ+ place for 55+ seniors and LTC facility here.

The growing population has brought more services such as nursing homes and assisted living centers that are geared toward serving the LGBTQ+ community, though such facilities remain uncommon. They include Stonewall Gardens, a 24-apartment assisted living center that opened in Palm Springs, California in 2015.

The center’s staff are required to go through sensitivity training to help make the center a more welcoming environment for residents, interim executive director Lauren Kabakoff Vincent said. The training is key for making a more accepting environment for transgender residents and making them feel more at home.

We have been doing that here also, but… it is an important but, the other residents there is no control over. You can train the staff all you want but if the other residents shun them there is not much the facilities can do.

“We have a long way to go in terms of getting to the point where nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care providers are prepared for and ready to provide appropriate and welcoming care to trans elders,” said Michael Adams, SAGE’s CEO [advocates on behalf of LGBTQ+ seniors].

For those living in Florida, my heart goes out to you. It will not be easy.

SAGE has seen a spike in the number of calls to its hotline following the wave of anti-transgender laws, and Adams said about 40% of them have come from trans seniors primarily in conservative parts of the country worried about the new restrictions.

It is getting worst as we get older. When I came out at the turn of the century thing were getting rosy the sun was rising and it seemed like a dawn of a glorious new day… but an eclipse has come along.