(northwest
Surveying Needs
Sexual minority seniors polled on experiences
by Patricia L. MacAodha
ou’ve marched in many Pride parades, i
The stories come from seniors and their
Perhaps you even remember Stonewall.
families—sometimes simply sad, while others
You’ve fought for your civil rights, and
border on horror—about queer brothers and sisters
if you’re somewhere between 60 and 80,
who have been thrown, unprepared, into the world
you feel you shouldn’t have to fight for
of senior services. It’s not an atmosphere known to
your dignity anymore—but now it all begins again.
be friendly to our kind.
As a boomer, you’re beginning to age, and some
Happily, some local members of the sexual
World War II babies are pushing 70. Some of you
minorities community are doing their best to assure
might be looking at assisted living or other special
queer-friendly resources will be available and to push
residential options as you age.
for zero tolerance of homophobic treatment of sexu
A cooperative effort involving Elder Resource
al minority elders through a combination of effective
Alliance (ERA), Senior Housing and Retirement
policies and diversity training for management and
Enterprises (SHARE) and a housing committee of staff involved in elder care and programming.
gay and lesbian participants who have worked with
The collaborative survey interviews discovered
both bodies has resulted in a survey geared toward
concerns about “conditions; acceptance; access to
determining how queer elders are treated in assist bulletin boards; a wider variety of activities; gay,
ed living centers and independent living settings.
lesbian, bisexual and transgender staff members; and
The committee wanted to know what would
access to transportation,” said committee member
constitute an atmosphere that is welcoming, affirm
Diane Tourigny. Also noted were high staff turnover
ing and nurturing to queer seniors. A preliminary
and the predominance on staffs of recent immigrants
application surveyed 12 such residents.
who “evangelized to hate queers” and have engaged
The need for the survey stemmed from, among
in behaviors that have resulted in unacceptable
other factors, a report released in April 2003 by the
neglect and abuse of sexual minority elders.
Gerontological Society of America. According to
The results of the preliminary survey will be
that report, “Older gay men and lesbians often
incorporated into the next phase of the commit
mistrust the health and social service networks as
tee’s research, which will be to approach senior
a result of lifelong experiences of marginalization
program administrators and staff members willing
and oppression...discrimination that continues in
to answer the questions. An anticipated follow-up
many social and institutional environments.”
would include agreeing to schedule diversity
trainings for their staffs. Another
result will be to create a database
to provide information for sen
iors on which residences and
ERA program coordinator Rachel Indigo Cerise Baum believes
programs are gay-friendly and
diversity training is vital to senior centers.
who will provide services equal
to what’s available to heterosexual elders.
bulletin board problem, citing the importance for
ERA program coordinator Rachel Indigo Cerise
queer seniors to have access to information about
Baum says queer seniors are “five times less likely
community events. (Homophobic hands remove
than heterosexual seniors" to pursue services to
queer event fliers posted at senior-serving assisted
elders “because of real or perceived experiences of
living centers). Loss of such information can result
rejection and ridicule.” She has collected incidents
in deepening isolation for sexual minority elders.
experienced by queer seniors that point out how
The survey discovered that few senior facilities offer
vital the database and diversity training can be.
options for marginalized queer seniors to protest
An elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, attending
homophobic treatment. While government over
a dance, had danced with several men. When she
sight includes nondiscrimination regulations, they
began dancing with another woman, staff members
don’t apply to other residents.
immediately intervened and pulled her away. In
The housing committee is seeking more inter
another incident, a group of residents walked by
viewers, according to Tourigny. She believes safety
a queer senior, and one remarked, “Oh, there’s one of and inclusion in senior facilities affects everyone. No
matter what your age, this is about your future. ©
them." Attempting to explain the situation, a woman
later came to the senior’s door and said, “They said
that because they think you’re gay.” The person
“meant to be helpful," Baum says, but the result for
the individual was fear, uncertainty and further
isolation in the living environment. This person is so
fearful that Baum asked that gender be excluded from
this report.
Both Baum and Tourigny mentioned the
FOUR
For more information about SENIOR HOUSING AND
R etirement E nterprises visit www.sharepdx.org.
For more information about ELDER RESOURCE
ALLIANCE visit www.elderresourcealliance org.
P atricia L. M ac A odha is a Portland freelance
writer. E-mail her at patmac31@juno.com.
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