We Just Never Thought About It.

That is what I hear more and more, I have seen a tend as I grow older… there is a new forgotten generation. They fought for our rights but now they are being turned out to pasture.

Have you noticed that when there are rallies, protests, Pride parades and legislation that there is a lack of seniors at them. There are no pride busses for seniors and the disabled. There are no speakers speaking about seniors issues. How many Pride events have senior speakers?

I give an A- to the rally this weekend… they had seating for the mobility impaired which earned them an A++ but they didn’t have one senior talking about discrimination that the Stonewall generation faces now and that earned them a B-.

 

The Advocate reports...

But that can't be said for everyone. After I wrote a column with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni about gay men and aging last year, I heard from many older gay men who felt the same insecurities as I did, that being an older gay male makes us obsolete in a community dominated by youth and beauty. Some told me that they felt happy to be out as men of a certain age. While others said that they experienced some form of depression about getting older.

 

[...]

 

"These findings are deeply troubling and point to the need for vigorous enforcement of existing state and federal law prohibiting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, as well as targeted interventions to reduce social isolation among LGBTQ older adults and meet their unique health care needs," said Sean Cahill, PhD, Director of Health Policy Research at The Fenway Institute and author of the report.

HELL NO! We will not got back!

They May Be Out Of The Closet, But Many LGBT Seniors Are Facing Aging Alone.
Healthcare, support, and legal protection: another hurdle to overcome by the LGBTQ community as they age
My Elder
By: Jack Halpern
Published: 14 Jul

“Boomers don’t want to have to go back into the closet to receive health care,” a woman recently told me. “But if they perceive themselves as being in an unsafe place, they may have to go back.”

Aging and health issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender baby boomers have often been ignored by services, policies and research. However, these seniors face higher rates of disability, physical and mental distress, and a lack of access to elder care services, according to a new study on aging and health in these communities.

Tina and Jackie were born in the same town in 1947. Despite similar beginnings, their lives take very different turns. In 1967, Tina met Frank. And Jackie met Frances. As a same-sex couple, Jackie and Frances couldn’t marry, were denied spousal benefits, and experienced a lifetime of discrimination and lost wages. Today, Jackie, like many other older adults, struggles with financial insecurity, social isolation, and overall lack of health and well-being, simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).

HELL NO! We will not got back!

“The higher rates of aging and health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults is a major concern for public health,” according to author Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work. “The health disparities reflect the historical and social context of their lives. The serious adversity they have encountered can jeopardize their health and willingness to seek services in old age,” she said in a statement.

HELL NO! We will not got back!

Social connections are crucial, the study noted because, unlike their heterosexual counterparts, most lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors rely heavily on partners and friends of similar age to provide assistance as they age. While social ties are critical, there may be limits to the ability of those older adults to provide care over the long-term, especially if decision-making is required for the older adult receiving care.

I have been relying on friends form the community and allies to get around as driving at night becomes more stressful. I was going to go and see my brother and sister-in-law one last time before they move to New Jersey from Maine but I would have had drive up and back in the dark from Litchfield but even though I know the road be heart it still would have meant driving at night for an hour each way.

SAGE which is a LGBTQ+…

SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBTQ+ older people and their caregivers.

Writes that,

LGBTQ+ seniors face unique challenges
Posted May 19, 2018

Aging can be a challenge for any community. But the lives of LGBTQ+ seniors bring distinct pleasures and pains. Or, as author Dave Singleton wrote, nearly half a century after Stonewall, “we’re still in the early stages of grasping what it really means to be LGBTQ+ and older. … Now, a confluence of a cultural and legal shift — along with sheer population size — is changing how we approach the needs of the LGBTQ+ senior community.”The Census Bureau reports that over five percent of the 65-and-over population reside in nursing homes, assisted living and similar situations. By 2030, the last Baby Boomers will have turned 65, and older adults will make up a fifth of the nation’s population.

In an interview with Georgia Voice, Linda Ellis, executive director of the Health Initiative (an LGBTQ+-centered health organization), outlined several of the singular problems faced by LGBTQ+ seniors.

“It’s sometimes harder,” she said, “for LGBTQ+ seniors to take advantage of the progress that our community has gained in recent years.” She noted that recognition and marriage had arrived too late for some members of the community.

“Getting old isn’t easy by any standard, and it’s much harder when you’re more likely to be alone or have less income or not enjoy partner or spousal benefits, as many LGBTQ+ elders are.” Isolation was the biggest challenge: many of the “current generation of elders came out of straight marriages after the kids were raised” with strained or lost family connections, or lack of long-term partnering.

Ellis stressed that not all elders share the same experience: “Lesbians and people of color are more likely to live in poverty than white gay men. Older bisexual adults are more likely to experience greater social isolation, and are more prone to depression. Transgender older adults are more likely than their peers to be forced back into the closet or forego needed healthcare.”

Some of the things that I am pushing for anyone who will listen is…

• LGBTQ+ senior housing. Many LGBTQ+ are fine living on their own but some of us need extra care and need LTC facilities. Some of them might also be okay in being in a LTC facilities but other might fear discrimination so it would be nice to have a place like SAGE runs or the new one in Boston.
• Second is getting them out of the house and it would be nice to have a senior day at pride centers where they can go during the day to be with others.
• We have laws here in Connecticut protecting us but when you talk to staff at LTC they say “WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE end of converation! But they do, they do so out of exclusion… they hold other days special like St. Patrick;s Day but not Pride month. What they need is training! They have Christmas and Hanukkah but what about Kwanzaa? What about Muslim holy days?

SAGE goes on to write,

“Often times,” Ellis said, “the biggest challenges are from fellow residents or participants — or volunteers — and it’s difficult for staff to feel comfortable addressing those behaviors without the policies and training to support them as they do so.” According to a City Lab post, these challenges are even harder when the seniors “are transgender and are people of color. LGBTQ+ older adults who live in more rural areas are also particularly affected.”

There are heartening signs of change. In September 2017, the California Legislature passed SB 219 — a Bill of Rights for LGBTQ+ Seniors in long-term care facilities. The law was designed to protect elderly members of the community (who rely on assistance from professionals) from being mistreated.

Additionally, there is a boom in LGBTQ+-specific institutions. By 2017, the number of retirement communities for LGBTQ+ seniors had grown, numbering 20 according to U.S. News & World Report, with several more on the way.

Can you imagine what it would be like day after day living in a LTC facility or a 55+ facility and being shunned every day?

 

HELL NO! We will not got back!