One of many observations from a new Chicago-based study is that more older LGBTs than ever before have lived out of the closet and feel free to expect services which reflect their real lives.
'This growing number is interested in having an atmosphere that doesn't judge them because of their sexual identity,' said Terri Worman of the American Association of Retired Persons, speaking about the new report last week. 'Service providers can no longer pretend that we don't exist.'
This comes from the newly completed report, LGBT Persons in Chicago: Growing Older, A Survey of Needs and Perceptions. The report was researched and compiled by the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Aging over the last two years and released Aug. 20 at the AARP's Suburban and Northern Illinois State office in Chicago.
Commenting on the report were Terri Worman, AARP's Community Organizer; Perry Wiggins, convener of the Task Force and manager of the Horizons Mature Adult Program of the Center on Halsted; Jim Skinner, clinical counseling manager at Howard Brown Health Center, who was key an analyzing the collected information; and Ellen Meyers, director of intergovernment affairs on the staff of the Secretary of State Jesse White's office.
Since it was convened in 1998 as a part of what is now the Horizons Mature Adult Program of Center on Halsted, the Task Force has developed training and best-practices guidelines for agencies providing services to seniors, including LGBTs. They have hosted one of five regional Town Hall meetings conducted by the New York-based SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment), and in March hosted a reception for members of the LGBT Aging Issues Network of the American Society on Aging during their joint conference with the National Council on the Aging held in Chicago.
In May the Task Force held a Health and Benefits Fair for LGBT seniors in Chicago.
In an attempt to learn about the lives of an estimated 40,000 LGBT persons in the Chicago area over age 55, the Task Force began in the spring of 2000 to distribute surveys at community gatherings and through organizations. The results, they hope, will suggest a range of specific and concrete studies and programs for the future.
Jim Skinner gave an overview and spoke of the several open-ended questions included in the survey which yielded some of the most interesting information. 'One of our questions asked which problems, issues, and un-met needs the older people they know are dealing with, and interestingly, many admitted they didn't know what these aging LBGTs were dealing with, which was very telling,' he said.
Many questions concerned what was needed from service providers.
'One thing that kept coming up was just an understanding of the LGBT lifestyle,' Skinner said. 'And while there is no one lifestyle, that term was used in reference to the support systems that LGBT people create for themselves and the fact that we are human and very much like everyone else with physical, emotional and spiritual needs.'
According to the report, seniors who are LGBT want what most seniors want: safe and friendly retirement housing; in-home supports for aging at home as long as possible; advocates among social service and healthcare professionals; access to preventative healthcare services; places for social and intellectual stimulation; and access to information and services. Professionals often fail to treat LGBT primary relationships as they do heterosexual ones and fail to acknowledge the importance of friend networks to gays.
There is also frustration among seniors with the larger LGBT community since seniors often feel invisible or unwanted. More interactions among and awareness of different age groups would increase appreciation of each for the other. Gay media advertising, even more than mainstream, was mentioned as promoting a distorted emphasis on youth.
Asked what older people they know were dealing with, some respondents admitted they didn't know, but many echoed common themes: chronic illness, limited financial resources, the cost of medical care, loneliness, the loss of close friends, lack of intimate relationships, loss of mobility, confinement, the need for help with tasks at home, alcoholism, addiction, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, discrimination (including that by younger LGBT people), few social outlets, safely and security, loss of vision and hearing, housing, sick family members or partners.
When asked what healthcare providers should know about older LBGT people, responders said that they should understand LGBT support systems, and both the normalcy and the uniqueness of the gay consumers and their needs. They said they should recognize that seniors still have sex and/or want to, that many have partners who should be treated as spouses, that they might be reluctant to talk openly about their lives and sexual practices, that they are not all engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, and that they do not want to be lectured. They should know that LGBT seniors may be at increased risk for certain diseases. They should respect their right to state a preference for the gender of their healthcare providers. One quote pointed out that determining a consumer's sexual orientation can be done in easy and respectful ways.
When asked what providers of social services should know about older LGBT people, the closet or shyness came into the picture. Some said that just because a need is not voiced, the provider should not assume all needs are met. Respondents also point out that seniors want to contribute to society. Many said that professionals can't shy away from the issue based on their own inexperience but should seek out the training and experience. They should be willing to grasp the complexity of relationships, including victimization that may exist within them. A partial quote from this section is that they should know that we are not 'one big happy oversexed family.'
Social service providers should also understand employment issues and income issues, respondents said. There are some who do sex work not out of choice, some who were scapegoated out of employment, some who live with the results of dishonorable discharges and face the emotional and mental challenges associated with irregular employment.
Asked how young and older LGBTs could be better interrelated, responders indicated that religious and volunteer opportunities, community centers, mentoring, coming-out groups, mixers, educational forums and workshops, 12-step programs and festivals are all places to mix. There were both novel approaches and pessimism, and a call for promoting and publicizing a new attitude toward older LGBT people.
Formal recommendations concluding the report include establishing an LGBT senior center, advocacy, referral and care management services, contact and support programs for the homebound, intellectual and volunteer opportunities, and creating social settings other than bars.
For healthcare, the report called for training of professionals, access to healthcare and to preventative healthcare. In the area of housing, the report called for in-home support services, LGBT-friendly retirement housing, services and support for caregivers.
As to awareness and acceptance, there was a call for anything that raises awareness of elder LGBT issues in the community and opportunities for involvement and interaction.
Worman is hopeful about the growing interest in LGBT aging among professionals. In a recent workshop Worman and Wiggins presented at an early morning hour during the Illinois Governor's Conference on Aging, in competition with many other workshops, they were gratified to have a room full of attentive listeners from across many age-related professions and from around the state.
The Task Force will host a roundtable discussion of LGBTs and aging Saturday, Sept. 13, from 1-3 p.m. at the Center on Halsted/Horizons, 961 W. Montana St.
Educational seminars for LGBT individuals 45 and older are held twice each month by the Horizons Mature Adult Program. The Mature Adult Program also offers Wednesday drops-ins from noon to 3 at Horizons; 'Out of Fridays!' 6 to 9 p.m. on the second Friday at Gerber/Hart Library, and on the third Friday at the NAMES Project office; and cultural outings. Contact Wiggins at (773) 472-6469 ext. 245 or e-mail perry@horizonsonline.org .
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At the American Association of Retired Persons' national event, Sept 5-7 at McCormick Place, Senior Action in a Gay Environment (SAGE), based in New York, will present a workshop, Friday, Sept. 5, 1-2 pm. Speakers are to be Margaret Cruikshank, an older lesbian, activist, lecturer and author of Learning to be Old: Gender, Culture, Aging; Vivian Gornick, author and founder of The House of Elder Artists in Manhattan; E. Percil Stanford, director of AARP's Seattle Field Operations Office; Yolanda M. Sanchez, Ph.D., a professor specializing in race, ethnicity and cultural change in aging and a member of the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network Leadership Council of the American Society on Aging; and Amber Hollibaugh, SAGE Director of Education, Advocacy and Community Building and author and filmmaker on the subject of women's sexuality as affected by AIDS. Not yet confirmed to join the panel is Richard Chamberlain.
