Lesbian and Gay Elders Need Support and Services
Advocates Increase Focus and Attention on Aging in the Gay Community
The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced its intent to form a national resource centre to help communities better meet the needs of aging gays. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese commended the DHHS decision, noting that, "LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) elders face significant discrimination from senior care providers, including in places where we are most vulnerable, such as assisted living facilities and end-of-life care."
Aging LGBT community members face a number of distinctive challenges from heterosexism and transphobia to financial challenges. Same-sex couples do not receive a number of Social Security benefits such as spousal benefits and survivor benefits.
In a heterosexual marriage, up to $5,000 per year can be contributed to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for a non-working spouse - this is not applicable if one member of a gay partnership works out of the home. Because of this, gay couples can end up with less retirement savings.
The attention to the issue of aging in the LGBT population is in its relative infancy. However there are a number of initiatives underway to provide increased support, housing, and information to LGBT people and mainstream senior providers in communities around the country.
Housing for Aging Gay Population
RainbowVision is the first community of its kind in the world - a combination of independent, condo, and assisted living units, specifically for the LGBT and allied communities. The first of the RainbowVision properties opened in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2006 and there are three more slated to open: Palm Springs, California, the Bay Area, California and one north of the border in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Communities such as this one may allow LGBT couples as well as individuals to remain part of the gay community in the retirement years. But communities like RainbowVision are few in number. Michael Adams of Service and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE) notes "there is a critical shortage of quality housing for seniors in general in this country. Also there's the additional problem of a place where we can be out and comfortable simply being who we are."
Triangle Square opened in March 2007 in Hollywood. This housing complex provides self-contained independent units for members of the aging LGBT community that are high quality yet affordable. Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH), formed to deal with the lack of diverse, supportive living environments for the LGBT older adults, oversees the 104 unit Triangle Square complex.
Openhouse, founded in 1998, and based in San Francisco is building 88-units of affordable housing with support services based on the Triangle Square model.
As GLEH reports most care facilities do not permit same-sex partners to share rooms so these LGBT focused retirement communities serve a dire need in the community.
Advocates for LGBT Elder Care
SAGE is the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving the LGBT elder community. It was founded in 1978 and was previously called Senior Action in a Gay Environment. Representatives of SAGE were the first to attend a White House Conference on Aging. This is one of many firsts for SAGE as they formed the first support group for LGBT seniors with HIV as well as the first LGBT senior drop in centre.
SAGE, based in New York, has a number of affiliates around the country as well as collaborative partnerships with mainstream organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons(AARP) and the American Society on Aging (ASA), which is the largest organization of professionals in the field of aging. These partnerships ensure SAGE is front and centre advocating for LGBT seniors and educating professionals about the needs of gay elders.
Obama Administration Shows Support to LGBT Seniors
For the first time, the U.S. Administration on Aging awarded a grant to a group that directly supports aging LGBT community members. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center was given a three-year $380,000 grant for their support services for LGBT over 50. Lorri L. Jean, chief executive officer of the Center says, "Studies show that at least two-thirds of gay and lesbian seniors live alone and 90 percent of them have no children to support them."
The Center provides a myriad of services including social activities, access to resources such as counseling and legal advice as well as a grief and loss support group.
Arielle Rosen, director of the Center's Senior Services Department, reports more and more seniors are having difficulty in the current economy and that "some are even at risk of being homeless after losing their lifelong partner, along with his or her Social Security benefits."
LGBT Seniors Need Access to Health Care
In an article titled Invisible and Overlooked in Newsweek Web Edition, Sept. 18, 2008, Jessica Bennett noted that a survey done by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law, at UCLA estimates that gay seniors are half as likely to have health coverage than their straight counterparts.
It is also noted that gay men over 50 are the fastest growing population living with HIV. Many gay seniors fear discrimination based on sexual orientation and are reluctant to access health care because of it.
SAGE's Long Term Care Task Force estimates that only 13 per cent of long term care facilities provide sensitivity training on sexual orientation to employees. Because of this, many LGBT seniors are forced back into the closet for fear of ridicule and discrimination in care facilities which in turn may lead to depression, grief or loneliness.
Senior LGBT Rights Movement
The LGBT senior rights movement began with the formation of the Elder Law Project (part of the National Center for Lesbian Rights) about ten years ago. With the growing support of the nation's biggest gay rights organizations behind it, the movement continues to grow. In July 2009, the Project released a guide titled Planning with Purpose: Legal Basics for LGBT Elders. The purpose is to empower gay seniors to protect themselves and help them navigate through the legal system.
LGBT Seniors Deserve a Peaceful Retirement
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LGBT Seniors Lose Out on Social Security Benefits
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