Aging can be a challenge for any community. But the lives of LGBTQ+ seniors bring distinct pains. Advocates in Columbus and throughout the nation are training health-care and senior-service groups to better support LGBTQ+ seniors.
Marilyn E. Lloyd is afraid of what would happen if an unexpected health problem — a heart attack or broken hip from a fall, for example — forced her into a rehabilitation or assisted-living center.
Would she, a 63-year-old transgender woman, be accepted at a long-term care center? Would she have to hide who she is and go back into the closet “to get the care I deserve to get?” she asked.
Lloyd, of the Far West Side, calls these worries “one of those things,” meaning one of the many distinct challenges that older LGBTQ+ adults face on top of the normal issues associated with aging. And her concerns are not uncommon.
“It’s not like they get out of the day-to-day elderly issues,” said Peggy Anderson, chief operating officer of Equitas Health, a nonprofit health-care system that specializes in working with the LGBTQ+ community.
Nationally, an estimated 1.5 million LGBTQ+ people who are 65 or older live in the United States — and that total will double by 2030, according to SAGE, a national organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ senior issues.
Experts say progress has been made in recent years to address the unique challenges of LGBTQ+ seniors, a population that has long been overlooked even as society’s attitudes on LGBTQ+ acceptance has shifted.
Well-known victories such as the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage removed some legal barriers. But increased efforts to ensure that health-care and senior-service groups provide inclusive care remains one of the best ways to address the challenges, advocates said.
Still, the progress has been uneven.
Laws in California and Massachusetts designed to protect LGBTQ+ seniors were passed, for example, as two ongoing discrimination lawsuits regarding senior-living communities play out in two other states. In Illinois, a facility is being accused of not doing enough to stop residents from harassing a fellow resident who is a lesbian. In Missouri, a same-sex couple is suing a retirement facility after it denied them admittance, citing religious beliefs.
Much of the problems facing older LGBTQ+ adults are rooted in history, said Jerry Mallicoat, co-founder of Rainbow Elder Care, a Dayton-area nonprofit group that refers seniors to LGBTQ+-friendly health-care providers.
“Older LGBTQ+ people grew up at a time when there was tremendous stigma and discrimination compared to today,” Mallicoat said.
The consequences have been wide-ranging, from higher rates of mental-health issues due to decades of discrimination to more precarious financial situations, he said.
In their younger years, many of today’s older adults could have been denied promotions — or even employment — because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, said Jenna McDavid, national managing coordinator for the Diverse Elders Coalition, a group of organizations that advocates for marginalized communities.
The result, research shows, is higher rates of poverty for older LGBTQ+ adults at a time when health-care and long-term care costs continue to rise.
LGBTQ+ seniors also might not have the same family support that others do, Mallicoat said. For many older adults, their children and family members provide crucial support, offering transportation to doctors’ visits, help in navigating the complex health-care system and other valuable services.
But many LGBTQ+ seniors don’t have children, he said, and are alienated from their birth families.
And though they might have built other tight-knit support systems, they’re often close in age and experiencing the challenges of growing older around the same time, said Mary Beth Bartholomew, who oversees senior programming for the LGBTQ+ Community Center of Greater Cleveland.
The Massachusetts law, passed in July, requires licensed providers who care for older adults to train specifically in the care of LGBTQ+ adults. It’s the first state to mandate the training, though many groups nationwide hold similar training.
Education is only a first step, but the awareness it brings is still important, Lloyd said.
“People won’t take the initiative (to change) unless they really understand” the concerns of older LGBTQ+ adults, she said.
SAGE has trained more than 40,000 people from more than 300 provider groups across the country.
In Ohio, about 1,400 people from 14 groups have been trained by SAGE, according to statistics provided by the nonprofit group. Other organizations, such as Mallicoat’s Rainbow Elder Care, offer similar programs.
“Our goal is to make it the norm that LGBTQ+ people are treated well and with respect,” said Tim Johnston, who oversees SAGE’s training program.
