In a press conference conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) on Dec. 13, elder advocates around the country voiced their concern and outrage at the Bush administration for leaving out issues that greatly impact the GLBT elderly community during the White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), which took place in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11-14. The conference has occurred approximately every 10 years since 1961.

Out of the several resolutions up for consideration, none involved issues related to the GLBT senior community. This year’s conference procedures permitted no input from delegates, whose attendance this year had been restricted to 1,200. Conversely, over 2,200 delegates attended the 1995 conference, where delegates were allowed to submit resolutions to be considered on the floor and sexual orientation was included in a resolution.

“It’s stunning how communities such as the U.S. GLBT [community] have been completely written out of the conference, and how frankly any kind of dialogue about the critical issues facing our country as our aging population grows are just not being addressed,” said Matt Foreman, NGLTF executive director.

Conference delegates and critics also said it wasn’t just GLBT issues that were absent from the platform. The NLGTF said procedures and vague resolutions at the conference prevented the discussion of critical aging issues, such as improving the cultural competency of service providers, instituting adequate funding for the implementation of elder care services and addressing how seniors can survive on a limited income.

Roberta Sklar, NGLTF communications director, said the conference seemed to focus solely on commerce rather than on pressing issues facing the elderly community. She said most nonprofit agencies were placed off to the sides while exhibition tables were prominently displayed, filled with expensive equipment for hospitals and nursing homes.

Tom Kirkman, executive director of SAGE (Seniors Active in a Gay Environment), a San Diego-based organization committed to fostering a greater understanding of aging and to meeting the needs of seniors, said he was concerned but not surprised that sexual orientation issues were left out of the conference.

“I would guess that there is ignorance on aging issues as they relate to LGBT seniors. Although there are many common problems and challenges that face each of us as we age, sexual orientation and gender identity have issues and challenges that are unique,” said Kirkman, who also thinks the Bush administration should be more inclusive and ignores all GLBT-related issues in general.

Kirkman, like the NGLTF and other advocates, believes that an accepting climate among senior service providers needs to be created so GLBT elders are not forced to compromise their sexual orientation or gender identity in order to receive care.

“Physicians and other caregivers must be trained to work with LGBT seniors. Legislators must be challenged to work for legislation that provides marriage rights and social security benefits and pensions to those in domestic partner relationships, and hospitals and other health care facilities must be sensitive to visitation rights,” Kirkman said.

Amber Hollibaugh, a NGLTF senior strategist and expert on GLBT aging, said that, after reviewing the conference material before the conference commenced, the NGLTF decided to sponsor “Make Room For All,” a one-day national summit and hearing held on Dec. 11. Recommended priorities for the WHCoA were discussed, and participants framed the specific issues they felt needed to be addressed. The event highlighted the growing diversity of the U.S. aging population, as well as the challenges that diversity presents to policymakers and service providers.

Hollibaugh said that issues such as isolation, marginalization and discrimination profoundly affect GLBT seniors.

“This White House Conference on Aging was completely making invisible or marginalizing all the kinds of issues that we think are critical to really moving forward an aging agenda for America that recognizes who’s aging,” Hollibaugh said. “…. Our identities as LGBT people … really need to be looked at seriously, because we are a significant part of aging America.”

Dave Taylor, executive director of Presbyterian Senior Services in New York City, attended the WHCoA as an observer this year. He said there were no opportunities to bring important issues into the conference, and that he had to endure listening to irrelevant speeches by corporate executives not targeted at the majority of the senior population.

“They were primarily given suggestions for people whose income was over $200,000 per year,” Taylor said. “So the low income, middle-income people were really not represented in this group of speakers.”

Taylor said delegates voted on the top 50 resolutions without a single meeting and no opportunity to make suggestions from the floor. He said that at the 1995 conference there was a strong presence from the presidential administration, with then-President Bill Clinton addressing delegates along with First Lady Hillary Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

At the WHCoA this year, President Bush was absent as was most of his administration, aside from a cabinet member of the Department of Transportation, Taylor said.

A call placed by the Gay & Lesbian Times to a WHCoA spokesperson was not returned as of press time.

Despite these drawbacks on a national level, ElderHelp of San Diego has been awarded $1 million over four years to launch Aging as Ourselves, the nation’s first program to provide health and social services to seniors within the GLBT community. Services will include case management, provider education, volunteer training and services, mental health services, health education, legal assistance and GLBT senior social activities.

ElderHelp executive director Leane Marchese said the funding for Aging as Ourselves was secured entirely from private sources. Marchese said she was also surprised the WHCoA did not address GLBT concerns.

“When people don’t feel comfortable disclosing their sexual orientation, the care that they receive is of less quality,” Marchese said. “It means their health is in question and there are health disparities. It’s appalling and it’s another thing that really reminds us just how out of step the administration is with the rest of the world.”

Kirkman said the San Diego GLBT community is fortunate to have several senior organizations that provide a variety of activities and programs to encourage socialization, and that SAGE will work with ElderHelp to recruit and train volunteers to provide non-medical in-home supportive services to GLBT seniors.

“LGBT seniors are the Stonewall generation. They are the first ones who marched for our rights, and the ones who cared for those inflicted with AIDS in the early years,” Kirkman said. “We owe them a lot. We must work for equal rights for all members of our community and be sure that our voices are heard for inclusive and quality health care for our LGBT seniors.”