The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it would spearhead an effort by the federal government to provide support for LGBT elderly individuals.
HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Oct. 21 the creation of the Resource Center for LGBT Elders, which will offer information, assistance and resources to LGBT and mainstream groups that work with LGBT senior citizens.
The department estimates that between 1.5-4 million LGBT people are over age 60 and that agencies that serve this population may not be attuned to its specific needs.
In addition to providing guidance to such organizations, HHS — through its Administration on Aging — will offer one grant per year of up to $250,000. The grant will be given to a nonprofit organization that has experience working on LGBT issues at the national level.
The center will also work directly with LGBT individuals who are approaching their older years to create longterm care plans.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the Resource Center would provide much-needed assistance to some of the LGBT community’s most overlooked members.
“Despite the many advances our community has seen, LGBT 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,” Solmonese said. “As more and more openly LGBT people reach their later years, it is incredibly important to ensure that we are treated with dignity, respect and fairness. We applaud HHS for taking this important step on behalf of older LGBT Americans.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, welcomed the HHS development as an integral step toward meeting the needs of the aging LGBT population.
“This announcement from HHS marks a critical step to address the needs of a highly vulnerable and largely invisible aging population. This national resource center will provide information and resources to mainstream aging organizations and to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations that want to reach out to their aging community,” Carey said. “We know that invisibility leads to greater social isolation, which is acknowledged as a major problem for people as they age, and can be particularly difficult for LGBT people. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force [is] genuinely pleased that the Administration on Aging is moving to create more safe and welcoming services for LGBT seniors. Up until now, such services have been few and far between.”
Michael Adams, executive director of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, said his organization was “thrilled” by the announcement and said the center would be a “truly historic recognition of the needs of LGBT older adults across this country and will make a difference in the lives of so many seniors.”
“For too long, programs that serve LGBT older people have been ignored and shut out from most public funding, and there has been no federal funding to help mainstream aging services become educated about and sensitive to the unique needs of LGBT older adults,” Adams continued. “With this announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Obama administration have taken a big step in the right direction to correct that wrong as a matter of both policy and funding.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].