As GLBT seniors ages 65-75 retire they have specific needs that may go unmet.

According to a 2003 senior needs assessment conducted by the Alliance Healthcare Foundation with support from The California Endowment, LGBT seniors have special needs and experience unique barriers to receiving effective healthcare. Many reported feeling uncomfortable discussing their sexual orientation with healthcare or service providers. As a result, they are less likely to have regular physical exams and less likely to honestly discuss their risks of STDs or HIV infection.

GLBT seniors are also less likely to have a support system of family members to aid them as they age. And while there are sometimes friends who can fill these gaps, the loss of an entire generation to AIDS leaves many who are approaching 70 with fewer 60-year-old friends to rely on. All of these factors complicate services for GLBT seniors and increase the risk of health problems, anxiety, depression and isolation/loneliness, and leave too many with inadequate or compromised care.

Equally disturbing was the assessment’s report that many GLBT seniors become closeted when they enter retirement homes or retirement communities. Many live in fear that their new neighbors cannot or will not accept or welcome them. That isolation is heartbreaking.

To be fair, our systems of care for the aging are not accustomed to considering the needs of an out GLBT population. The phenomenon of out and proud 70-year-olds is new to many. Doctors and service providers, in general, are not trained to consider the possibility that their senior patients might be GLBT or may have somewhat different needs, including the involvement of their same-sex partner in their care.

After the senior needs assessment made these challenges clear, a collaboration of both mainstream and GLBT health/social service providers formed Aging As Ourselves to find ways to deliver more appropriate care to our seniors as they begin retiring.

The Aging As Ourselves network was formed to ensure that senior services are delivered to the GLBT community in a culturally sensitive manner, and to help providers expand the types of services they offer to address specific health issues facing this hidden population. It is a community-wide collaborative that provides a network of organizations to assist GLBT seniors with supportive services.

ElderHelp of San Diego, Family Health Centers of San Diego, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, Elder Law and Advocacy, and S.A.G.E. of California, offer access to services such as: in-home care management and connection to housing, home health care, nutrition services, transportation and home-delivered meals; legal assistance focusing on the specific needs of GLBT seniors; mental health counseling; HIV and health education; social activities; volunteer grocery shopping; and in-home visits for homebound seniors. In addition, Aging as Ourselves provides training and assistance to health and social service providers and recruits and trains volunteers to help them understand the unique needs of aging GLBT adults.

Our seniors are our history and our heroes. We must take care of our trailblazers, those who led the way from the Stonewall riots through the early days of the AIDS crisis to our current fight for equal marriage rights – their courage has made possible things that were unimaginable 30 years ago. Our seniors are an integral part of our community; they deserve our respect, our support and, when necessary, our help.

For more information about Aging As Ourselves, contact Renee Nashtut at rnashtut@elderhelpofsandiego.org or (619) 284-9281.

For information on The Center’s 50 and Better Club and other GLBT resources, contact David VanGilder at (619) 692-2077, ext. 205, or dvangilder@thecentersd.org.