SERVICES AND ADVOCACY FOR GLBT ELDERS (SAGE) LAUNCHES new york ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN ABOUT caregiving SUPPORTS for LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER OLDER ADULTS

(New York, NY) June 7, 2010 -- Beginning the week of June 14, Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) will launch a seven-week New York City-wide ad campaign about its unique caregiving program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults: SAGECAP (Caring and Preparing).

The ad campaign, which runs from June 14 through July 26, aims to connect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in need of caregiving support to the program and also to educate New Yorkers about the ways in which care giving affects LGBT older adults and their families. The ads ask: Caregivers do a lot for the people they care for, but who cares for the caregiver?

"Our SAGECAP program provides an LGBT-affirming space where people who are going through the difficult time of providing care for a loved one can receive essential information and support," said Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, the world's oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults. "SAGE's city-wide ad campaign is meant to remind LGBT caregivers that they are not alone and that our SAGECAP services are there to help."

SAGECAP offers a number of services to caregivers and care recipients throughout New York, including individual counseling, a caregivers support group, benefits and entitlement assistance, recommendations for safe and LGBT-affirming long-term care options and identifying appropriate home-based care services. The program also provides a safe space for LGBT caregivers to share ideas and suggestions and to receive support.

English and Spanish-language versions of the SAGECAP ads will run as posters throughout the MTA subway system, as well as in print and online magazines, blogs, and in media that target LGBT people throughout New York City. Animated versions of the ads will also run online. In all, the campaign projects that the ads will be viewed more than 33 million times during the seven-week period. Later this fall, in preparation for November's Caregiver Appreciation Month, SAGE will broaden this campaign to educate LGBT communities nationwide about the types of support caregivers can receive.

SAGE is the world's oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults.  Since its inception, SAGE has pioneered programs and services for the aging LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a national voice on LGBT aging issues.  In 2005, SAGE became the first official LGBT delegate at the White House Conference on Aging.  In 2010, SAGE was awarded a three-year $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration on Aging to create the nation's first National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.  For more information go to www.sageusa.org.

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