Gay seniors historically marginalized and isolated

Shannon Rose

Aging can be hard enough without being childless, estranged from family and marginalized by society.

“Until 1973, homosexuality was on the list of mental illnesses,”says Karen Taylor, Director of Advocacy and Training for SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment). “If we look at the timeline of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual) senior, a 70-year-old person would have been brought up to believe that homosexuals are sick, mentally ill, and could be institutionalized.

Taylor explained that SAGE is very important because we [as a society] pay very little attention to older people, especially minorities and the challenges they face.

“SAGE is the largest organization in the United States serving LGBT seniors,” says Taylor. “Our mission is to provide greater quality of life to the aging LGBT community and to promote positive images of LGBT life in later years.”

This past October SAGE hosted their fourth annual conference for gay seniors in NYC. The keynote address was delivered by the AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen, who discussed the spirit of inclusion. There were 75 workshops and presentations aimed at encouraging cooperation with conventional senior organizations to deal with LGBT issues.

By 2030 the number of gay seniors in the U.S. is expected to grow to an estimated 4.7 million, according to the SAGE website.Taylor emphasizes that gay boomers’ needs can only be expected to increase as their as their numbers surpass previous generations and are more accepting of their sexuality.

“LGBT seniors have different life experiences and challenges,” she says. “They are twice as likely to live alone and four times less likely to have children. Between those two things, elders are treated differently. Healthcare services assume that there is at least one person at home.” This assumption hinders the ability of gay seniors to recover after a hospital stay.

“There is a longstanding history of isolation for LGBT seniors,” Taylor notes. The attitudes with which they were raised often make it tough for them to be honest about their sexuality. This becomes a significant problem when being placed in residences where most of the residents are heterosexuals. “Their heterosexual counterparts were brought up the same way, so it’s challenging for LGBT seniors to go to regular community centers and residences without feeling ostracized.”

Montreal is home to one of very few retirement homes for gay men. Urban Home Papineau (urban-home.ca) is an autonomous and semi-autonomous residence featuring secure access, a concierge, an infirmary, and a full-service dining room. Montreal also has an English-speaking phone counseling service, Gayline, which offers support from trained volunteers about sexual orientation issues. They can be reached from 7 pm to 11 pm daily at 514-866-5090.