National Resource Center on LGBT Aging Launched

The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging is the US's only technical assistance resource center aimed at improving the quality of services and supports offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Established in 2010 through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging provides training, technical assistance and educational resources to aging providers, LGBT organizations and LGBT older adults. The center is led by Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) in partnership with 10 leading organizations from around the country.
The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging was officially launched in October 2010, unveiling a web site that will serve as a comprehensive clearinghouse of information for aging providers, LGBT organizations and LGBT older adults. Over time, SAGE and our 10 organizational partners will provide more and more training and develop even more tools and resources for aging providers, LGBT organizations and LGBT older adults.


http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/

Outing Age 2010

Outing Age 2010: Public Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Elders, from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, is an update to the Outing Age report issued in 2000.

Like its predecessor, Outing Age 2010 presents an in-depth look at public policy issues and challenges facing millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States as they get older. It also includes detailed policy recommendations.

http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/outingage_final.pdf

Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults

Released May 17, 2010, this national report details the myriad social and financial stumbling blocks that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender senior citizens face and calls on lawmakers to make changes to Social Security and Medicaid to assist this growing population.

Prepared by Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, or SAGE, the report has received endorsement it from major mainstream aging groups including AARP and the American Society on Aging.

The report highlights three key areas where LGBT seniors face challenges: financial security, health care and social supports, and calls on US federal and state lawmakers to consider ways to legally recognize same-sex relationships so aging partners in a committed relationship can have access to the same supports that benefit heterosexual seniors. .

http://sageusa.org/uploads/Advancing%20Equality%20for%20LGBT%20Elders.pdf

Outing Age 2010

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) jointly released Outing Age 2010: Public Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Elders, an update to the groundbreaking Outing Age report issued in 2000.

Like its predecessor, Outing Age 2010 presents an in-depth look at public policy issues and challenges facing millions of aging LGBT people in the United States.

The report shows that several federal programs that aim to serve elders blatantly exclude or otherwise discriminate against LGBT elders. For example, Social Security pays survivor benefits to widows and widowers but not to surviving spouses of same-sex life partners. Medicaid regulations protect the assets and homes of married spouses but offer no such protection to same-sex partners. Tax laws discriminate against same-sex partners, costing the surviving partner thousands of dollars a year. In addition, the report spotlights the continuing widespread existence of bias in the provision of services to LGBT elders.

The report is available for upload at www.sageconnect.net

Agelit: July Issue Now Available

Agelit is published quarterly as an information alerting service for long- term care providers by the J. W. Crane Memorial Library. Agelit contains selected recent articles, books, websites, audiovisual resources, continuing education and conferences in geriatrics, gerontology, and long- term care, as well as the “Focus On” feature: a list of resources on a specific topic of current interest. This issue focuses on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Long-term Care. To download a copy of Agelit, go to:
http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/Documents/i2771/AGELIT%20-%20July2009.pdf

Transgender Aging Network

This is the website for the Transgender Aging Network, the only organization in the world devoted to transgender aging issues.

The Transgender Aging Network (TAN) exists to improve the lives of current and future trans/SOFFA (significant others, friends, family and allies) elders by:

• Identifying, promoting communication among, and enhancing the work of researchers, service providers, educators, advocates, elders and others who are interested in trans/SOFFA aging issues;

• Promoting awareness of concerns, issues, and realities of trans/SOFFA aging among service providers, researchers, advocates, health care professionals, the lesbian/gay/bisexual and trans communities, and other relevant audiences;

• Advocating for policy changes in public and private institutions, services, organizations, programs, etc. to provide better access for and respectful and appropriate treatment of trans/SOFFA elders; and

• Providing communication channels through which trans/SOFFA elders can give and receive support and information.

The site contains several publications. More recently published are:

Transgender Elder/SOFFA Roundtable

Seven transgender or SOFFA elders aged 54 to 71 discuss the joys and difficulties of being trans/SOFFA and aging, what scares and excites them, their families’ reactions, what research they wish was done on trans aging, and what service providers should know about them.
2008

Sexual Violence, Elder Abuse, and Sexuality of Transgender Adults Age 50+: Results of Three Surveys

This in-depth report covers more than 300 responses from transgender people age 50+ on three surveys conducted by FORGE and/or the Transgender Aging Network. Discussion includes many narrative responses on topics such as: experiences with service providers; perceptions of the role gender may have played in the criminal targeting of the trans person; barriers to services; how fear of crime has impacted respondents’ daily life and future plans; sexual practices; the impact of hormone use on libido; and dating disclosure practices. 2008

Transforming Mental Health Services for Older People: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Challenges and Opportunities

How would all elders and the aging network as a whole benefit if systems were designed to meet the needs of LGBT elders? That provocative and challenging thesis is at the base of this thought-provoking address to AARP’s 2007 Minority Issues Conference. The article also presents a new schema for thinking about cultural competency, and pioneers a new way of thinking about mental health. 2007