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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2003)
__ ______________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________hhfuifv T ?nm I— ■ — i 1 1 1 m?7TTÏÏ7nT3neti;s t is no secret that the United States has an aging population. But it might as well be a big secret that gay men and lesbians are getting older right along with the rest of J1 L . the country, as very little has been said or written about these folks— and even less done to meet their needs. That all will be changing in the near future if a recently formed Portland group has its way. T he Elder G L B T Outreach Com m ittee is mak ing tremendous strides in trying to connect with queer seniors; more importantly, it is working diligently to figure out what their specific needs are and how they can he met. Paul larrobino, a gay man who works with Multnomah County Aging and Disability Serv ices, is one of several people who helped get the group off the ground. He is quick to give credit to Vaune Alhanese, a lesbian who works as assistant director of Friendly House, a nonprofit agency that decided a few years ago that there was a need to reach out to sexual minority elders. Shortly thereafter, larrobino went to a national aging conference and learned that his colleagues across the country were starting queer-specific programs and services. He decid ed it was time to get involved. “1 came hack from the conference hopeful,” larrobino says. “I called together a small group, and we’ve been meeting ever since.” larrobino is grateful to the Friendly House staff and the endless volunteers who have stepped forward. A lot of people have put in a lot of time, he notes. Although the group really has been rolling for only a year, it has accomplished a great deal. T he first big step was planning a social event connected with the Portland Gay M en’s Chorus Vintage Voices concert. “It was a major success,” larrobino says. “Stu dents from the Reed [College] Queer Alliance hosted the event. W ith the help o f the Friendly House, we were able to get seniors there to see the event that ordinarily wouldn’t have either known about it or would have had problems get G ray A rea Committee reaches out to sexual minority elders by T om S tev en son G enerations mingle prior to the Portland Gay M en’s Chorus V intage V oices concert last M arch at Reed College ting to and from the event. T he folks at Friendly House sold the tickets and provided transporta tion for people who needed extra assistance. Also, an ‘angel’ in our group made a generous donation so that people who were low-income could take advantage of a sliding scale.” T h e group also recently provided an "elderly hospitality center” during the Creating Change conference in Portland. According to larrobino, it was a “smashing success.” “We provided a fun and relaxing space for older people to visit during the conference,” he says. “It was a very moving experience.” In addition, the committee recently was awarded $5,000 from Seattle’s Pride Foundation and $2,700 from Portland’s Equity Foundation to fight homopho bia in the aging provider program. Rainbow Train, a Seattle nonprofit organization that increases cultural competency about queer seniors, will teach a core group of Portlanders how to accomplish this goal. “We are very excitad about that,” larrobino says. “We will he providing sensitivity training to agency staff around homophobia and how it relates to sexual minority elders. Providers are T h e Elder G L B T O utreach Com m ittee meets monthly asking for this type of training, as it at Friendly House really has not been offered before.” Alhanese is pleased that the com m ittee’s work has been recognized. “It looks like w e...will be able to provide even more training than we originally anticipated,” she says. T he group’s dozen members have a number o f ideas about what to do in the future, hut def inite plans will wait until their upcoming strate gic meeting. T he reality, however, is that much work remains to be done for queer seniors. “Our community, like the population in gen eral, is growing older," Alhanese says. “T h e lead ing edge of the hahy boom generation is inching toward 60. There will be more and more queer old folks who will need services. Now is the time to jump on board and create programs and serv ices that work for elder lesbians and gay men.” Committee member Ric King, who remains plenty active at 77, says housing, health care and other issues are urgently important to the aging sex ual minority population. “Federal, state and local elder programs do not address G LBT elder needs." King notes that a general sense of disconnect from formal family ties and “reliance on peer extended family and gay friends make elder health care and end-of-life issues different” for queers. He also thinks the gay, lesbian, bi and trans community is not overly supportive of the elderly population in its midst. “G L B T groups pay lip service” to the elder issues, he says. “But general ageism dilutes effec tive support and respect of and about elders. O ne-on-one contacts work but is not within the mission o f most G L B T associations." Alhanese also is frustrated by the lack of attention given to this rapidly growing segment of the sexual minorities community. “Growing up we all heard our parents admon ish us to respect our elders,” she says. “Unfortu nately, that maxim seems to be missing in our society today. And G L B T elders take a double hit because not only are they old and disrespected and not paid attention to, they’re gay or lesbian and disrespected and not paid attention to. W e’re only just now scratching the surface when it comes to providing respectful services.” JH1 For more information about the E lder G LBT O u trea ch C om m ittee contact Paul larrobino at 503-988-3620 or [xml.ianobinc@co.multnijmah.or.us or Eileen McClary at 503-224-2640 or emcclary@fnendyhousemc. org. is a Portland free-lance writer who is at the "lower end" o f the baby boom er generation. H e can be reached at m raltom @ yahoo.com . T o m STEVENSON C ommunity R esources • Conversations Project: Group giving elders a forum to share concerns, issues, hopes and frustrations about aging in the sexual minorities community with younger counter parts. 503-227-0605. • 5 0 + : Lesbian social group for women. Meets from 4 to 7 p.m. on the third Saturday of the month. 503-642-3360 or 503-286-3575. • Funny Ladies Tea and Posey Society: Social group for lesbians 35 and older. Meets for a potluck on the second Saturday of the month. 503-760-0816 or flataps@aol.com. • Old Lesbians Organizing for Change: Portland chapter of a national lesbian organiza- tion for women 6 0 and older interested in changing the social disease of ageism. Meets 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. 503-286-3575. • Portland Metro Prime Tuners: Social group for mature gay men— and those who appreciate them— coming together for social, educational and cultural purposes. 503-286-4613, 360-254-1718, pdxprimetimers@yahqo.com or www.geocities.com/pdxprimetimers. • Senior Housing and Retirement Enter prises: Coalition laying the groundwork for future gay and lesbian senior housing in the Portland area. 503-286-3575. Dignity in Oregon EQUITY Id L'N iM I m s Investing in Dignity Equity Foundation was there when HIV hit our community, few were dealing with our mental health needs, queer kids wanted a place to gather, our souls needed to be lifted by music, we challenged the broader community through the arts Equity promotes philanthropy in Oregon to support youth and families, human dignity, the arts and health. Help us be there when... Your gift to Equity is an investment in dignity. Founded In 1989 by Oregon's Gay and Lesbian community. W W W . C Q I i i t y f 0 U n d 9 t l 0 n . 0 r 9 Ad sponsored by Marvin Salles, Broker and Susan Nestor, CPA. PO B o iS696 Portland, OR 97228-S696 SOÏ-2ÎH759
