Due to a lifetime of discrimination, many in the LGBTQ+ community age without adequate community support systems and face substantial employment barriers. As they get older, this elevates into increased poverty levels, substandard health care and living conditions, and overall lower quality of life. One way to support this population is to strengthen the supports and systems that already exist to assist aging people across this country. One of those crucial systems is the Older Americans Act (OAA). This $2.4 billion-dollar federal initiative’s goal is to support older Americans to live at home and in the community with dignity and independence for as long as possible.
Since 1965, the OAA has supported programs like home-delivered meals (e.g., Meals-on-Wheels), congregate meals, programs through senior centers, chore and transportation assistance, and an entire range of services and supports. These programs allow people to age successfully at home and in their communities.
In 2020, SAGE successfully advocated for LGBTQ+ inclusion when Congress updated the OAA. Now, the OAA requires state and local aging agencies to conduct outreach and engage with the LGBTQ+ community, and to determine what services are needed and if their needs are being met. These updates to the OAA will impact LGBTQ+ elders in every single state and every single community across the nation. [..]
Click here to read the full piece. This story was originally published by Forbes EQ on July 31, 2023.
