The Center hosted its 4th Annual Senior Resource Fair on Aug. 22, to inform GLBT seniors about services available in the community.

“We want seniors to know, even though times are tough, they are not alone,” Abby Schwartz, Women’s Resource Center and Senior Services Coordinator said. “It is our hope to provide our seniors with a free day of workshops, resources and community support aimed at leaving everyone inspired, relaxed and a little clearer on how to navigate the ups and downs of today’s economy.”

The Center modified the event’s annual theme, “Life’s a banquet,” to “Life’s a banquet on a budget” to reflect the financial difficulties many seniors are facing.

The mood was upbeat as a volunteer pianist filled The Center’s auditorium with pleasant tunes and almost 50 vendors greeted GLBT seniors and helped them gather information.

“For a lot of [elderly] people, I think there is a sense that things are dwindling. We’re trying to keep it lively,” Schwartz said.

Workshops at the fair included: “How to not outlive your money;” “Shopping and cooking on a budget;” “Navigating the Medicare system;” and “Senior dating and intimacy.”

Schwartz maintains a resource binder filled with information for GLBT seniors in the Center’s designated senior area. The Center also provides an intake worker whose job is to connect people with resources.

Steve Hall, Director of Clinical Services for Senior Community Centers (SCC) said getting in contact with seniors is difficult, so Hall attended the fair to help get in contact with seniors who may be eligible to receive services. SCC delivers daily meals to seniors in Downtown San Diego. Due to budget cuts, the organization has been forced to close on Sundays, meaning no meals are delivered on that day. Hall said most of the seniors the organization serves live on an income of about $900 a month.

“They’re highly dependent upon our meal programs and mental health programs,” Hall said. “Specifically, social programs are the ones cut first when the state has problems.”

Senior Community Centers regularly informs seniors about services available at The Center, but he said many seniors may not want to contact The Center because they don’t wish to make their orientation public.

“I would think a lot of seniors in this generation are getting resources from other places,” Schwartz agreed.

“The baby boomers now are going to become seniors, and seniors are going to be the biggest population in the country, according to the census,” Schwartz said. “It’s about getting to know our seniors, learning what their needs are, and what their needs are going to be, so they’re provided for [and] so we’re provided for by the time we become seniors.”

Retiree Al Kalian is a volunteer for the senior advisory committee, and a prostate cancer survivor. Kalian volunteered as a greeter for the resource fair. He said he is not greatly affected by the economy, but only because he recently finished paying the mortgage for his condominium.

“I would be very much affected if I had to move and had to sell my condo., because it has really dropped in price,” Kalian said, adding many of the seniors what go to The Center use services such as Section 8, the federal subsidized housing program.

“Fortunately [the economy] is not affecting them yet,” he said. “If we have more cuts, they will be affected.”

Kalian said many struggling seniors are affected because of a lack of insurance. With further cuts to Medi-Cal and Medicare, seniors may find it more difficult to receive the medications they need.

“When I was diagnosed in 1998, I had insurance,” Kalian said. “If you don’t have insurance, you’re in bad shape; especially when medication you need is $4,000.”

Earl Storm a political cartoonist for Quackcity.com attended the resource fair and was part of the Seniors Active in a Gay Environment (S.A.G.E.) support group Kalian was a member of until it closed last June, after opening in 1999. The Center has absorbed some of the services S.A.G.E. offered. “It’s rather disheartening when you see a viable part of social services cut back,” Storm said about the closing of S.A.G.E. “They provided a tremendous resource for gay men with prostate cancer. When I needed them they were there.”

“It forces me to be more resourceful and creative with what I have, instead of going out to buy more stuff,” Storm said. “You have to maybe pull back and make some wiser choices about where you want to put your money.”

Storm said he would have liked to see more fun events at the resource fair.

“I would have liked to see more things where seniors could get more involved in their community – as opposed to being overly concerned with health,” Storm said. “Health is a priority, but there are a lot of things that can keep us healthy.”

Schwartz said people’s ideas about senior life being sedentary are not always true.

“Many of the seniors here at the center are very active, very engaged, very committed to the community, very committed to activism,” Schwartz said. “Seniors are wonderful, unique individuals, and they deserve to be recognized.”

Hall said the event was successful. The last time he attended was a couple of years ago. “Looks like there’s double the amount here,” he said. According to Newsweek, baby boomers account for 80 million Americans. GLBT seniors represent 2 to 10 percent or between 1.6 and 8 million people. People over 50 are the fastest growing segment of the population with HIV. A study by the Williams Institute states GLBT seniors are 50 percent less likely to have health insurance than the rest of the populist.