Although the media campaign targets LGBT youth, “It Gets Better” also holds true for LGBT elders. Whether related to health, housing, social or legal issues, LGBT elders face unique challenges. To develop policy solutions, advocate for change, provide networking opportunities and eliminate barriers to access, a new organization has emerged in Philly: the LGBT Elder Initiative.
The first LGBT generations post-Stonewall and post-AIDS are now in their 50s and older. For the past four decades, we have taken care of our own: nursed those affected by HIV/AIDS, developed resources for at-risk youth, built support systems for our health and welfare and advocated for our human and civil rights. Now our attention must turn to the needs of our communities as we age, a process we all share.
The issues facing us as we age are striking and affect us whether we are 25 or 65. The challenges we face, growing up or growing old, are more complex because we are marginalized as LGBT people.
Many in the LGBT community live alone, as do a majority of LGBT seniors. We worry about the cost of housing, food and transportation. We are concerned about illness and disability, how we will afford care and who will care for us.
Historically, our community has organized and advocated successfully. We have secured governmental resources and lobbied for changes in laws that denied us our rights as citizens. Joining together as a community to fight cutbacks in programs such as Medicare and Medicaid is nothing new for us. Nor is the model for advocacy that will be necessary to change the law that will extend Social Security partnership benefits to same-sex couples. The LGBT community must simply renew its commitment to taking care of its own.
We all know, or have heard of, couples who have been together for decades, some for more than half a century. Despite a long, rewarding life together, some individuals face poverty when a partner dies. Current laws deny many survivor benefits, including Social Security and health care. Overturning these discriminatory laws must now move to the top of our agenda. Unless laws denying equal rights to same-sex couples are changed, many will lose their homes to taxation after a partner dies. Our efforts must continue until we have the same legal protections that are extended to our heterosexual counterparts. Can any of us, young or not so young, afford to let this discrimination continue?
Many aging members of our communities face isolation. They have few opportunities to socialize with other LGBT people. According to a report by the National Senior Citizens Law Center, over 80 percent of LGBT seniors fear discrimination in a longterm-care setting. To live in elder group settings, many feel the emotional pain of “going back into the closet.” We do so in order to avoid harassment and even physical harm. Bullying, it seems, exists in nursing homes as well as schoolyards. No matter what the venue, the effect is the same: depression, fear and, sometimes, death.
The seeds for the LGBT Elder Initiative were sewn last summer with a grant from the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund. With this grant, a community survey was conducted to determine the most pressing needs of LGBT individuals over 55. Following the survey, an Elder Summit was held last October. Over 125 members of the LGBT community and its allies, along with representatives from government, area agencies on aging and other community-based organizations, participated. To convert the results of the survey and the summit into action, the LGBTEI formed committees to identify, develop and implement solutions to the social, financial, legal and health needs that were identified.
The LGBTEI’s mission is to assure that LGBT older adults have rights and opportunities to live vibrant, creative and mutually supportive lives. To fulfill this mission, the initiative will promote access to services, advocate for LGBT senior issues and evaluate existing policies and their impact on the LGBT elder community. This activism, like the activism of the past 40 years, will benefit all generations and communities of LGBT people.
To maintain awareness of these issues and keep the community informed about the LGBTEI’s efforts, PGN and the LGBTEI will run this column on the third Friday of the month to address ageism, legal necessities, medical care, housing and opportunities for networking and socializing. We will explore ways to maintain sexual health after 55, examine inter-generational topics and provide coverage and commentary on current events as they affect the LGBT community.
Ed Bomba is communications chair for the LGBT Elder Initiative. Terri Clark, MPH, CHES, prevention services coordinator for ActionAIDS, and Heshie Zinman, long-time community health activist, are serving as co-chairs of LGBTEI. To contact Clark or Zinman or for more information, visit www.lgbtelderinitiative.blogspot.com and watch for “Getting’ On” each month in PGN.