AARP Confirms: 88% of LGBT elders want LGBT trained care providers

AARP Survey Demonstrates Acute Concerns of Older LGBT People AARP recently completed a far-reaching survey that elevated statistics about the LGBT aging experience. LGBT elders fear discrimination in health care and are worried about coming out in long-term care facilities. Black and Latino LGBT populations have these anxieties in an even higher proportion.Perhaps the most telling statistic is that 88 percent of older LGBT people want LGBT-trained care providers. This validates the importance of SAGECare, SAGE's LGBT cultural competency training program, which has trained more than 10,000 providers in 46 states over the past year. “With this new survey, AARP has made a vital contribution to increasing awareness about the lives, challenges, and resiliencies of LGBT older people,” says SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “The important work now is to do everything possible to respond to the acute needs documented in the survey so that LGBT older people have the same opportunities in their later years as all older Americans.”  How Does the Trump Administration Celebrate Women’s History Month? The removal of the lesbian and bisexual women’s health pages from the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in March was just one of many erasures of LGBT people from the federal government. Within the past year, the same agency sought to erase LGBT elders from a critical aging survey, leading SAGE to raise the cry “We Refuse to Be Invisible.” In response to this latest affront, SAGE released a statement demanding that the administration restore these critical resources.  50 Years After Fair Housing Act, LGBT People Still Face Housing Discrimination April 11 marked the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act, a pivotal piece of legislation that laid the groundwork for housing protections for marginalized populations in the United States. Although the U.S. has taken great strides in the past 50 years to provide housing protections and ensure that those who break the law are held accountable, LGBT people still disproportionately suffer discrimination. SAGE’s research indicates that nearly half of same-sex couples experience some sort of discrimination when seeking housing. Visit SAGE's National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative to access a wealth of LGBT-related housing resources. The American Society on Aging Names SAGE CEO as Chair-Elect The National Caucus on Black Aging (NCBA) and SAGE are proud to announce the election of NCBA CEO Karyne Jones as Chair of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and SAGE CEO Michael Adams as ASA Chair-Elect. Jones and Adams will assume their new leadership roles with ASA, the country’s oldest and largest association of professionals in the aging sector. “I see it as a great privilege to advance the essential work of the American Society on Aging by partnering with its outstanding new Chair, Karyne Jones,” says Adams. “Never has ASA’s work been more important than now, as we redouble our commitment to this country’s elders in the face of a rapidly aging population and growing doubts about our federal government’s bedrock commitment to older Americans,” he added. SAGE Celebrates Women With SHE and Honors Bruce Williams for Work in South Florida SAGE’s second-annual SHE event was held in conjunction with Women’s History Month on March 22at Mezzanine in NYC. More than 250 supporters danced the night away with great eats, drinks, and conversations. See photos » On April 12, SAGE honored Bruce Williams, the director of senior services at Fort Lauderdale’s Pride Center, for the extraordinary work he does in support of the LGBT elders of that South Florida. Held at the home of Scott L. Bennett, this third SAGE & Friends Fort Lauderdale event brought together new friends and old in their support of SAGE's and Bruce’s work. See photos » Mark Your Calendars! SAGE Women's Dance April 29, 2018 | Lexicon Nightclub, New York, NY SAGE & Friends Los Angeles May 12, 2018 | Home of Marc Ware, Beverly Hills, CA SAGE & Friends in the Capital May 31, 2018 | The Chastleton Ballroom, Washington, D.C. Fire Island Pines Celebration June 2, 2018 | Fire Island Pines, NY SAGE & Friends Harlem June 21, 2018 | Harlem, NY SAGE Table November 8, 2018 | Nationwide See all SAGE events » ‌