Although largely invisible until very recently, LGBTQ older adults make up a significant (and growing) share of both the overall LGBTQ population and the larger 65+ population. While confronted with the same challenges that face all people as they age, LGBTQ elders also face an array of unique barriers and inequalities that can stand in the way of a healthy and rewarding later life.
The following resources offer an overview into the lives of LGBTQ older adults, including an introduction to the challenges facing LGBTQ older adults, a report on the impact of religious exemptions, and a policy series entitled “Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults.”
July 2021 - This issue brief details how LGBT older people would benefit from passage of the Equality Act, which would update federal civil rights law to explicitly protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in key areas of life.
May 2021 - The American Jobs Plan creates a unique opportunity to provide vital services and protections for LGBT older people–two populations that too often feel invisible. This info sheet discusses how we can best support LGBT elders through the Americans Jobs Plan.
November 2020 - This brief highlights 10 actions the Biden administration can immediately start to ensure LGBTQ people and their families can be protected from discrimination.
May 2020 - Older adults in the United States are at increased risk for contracting COVID-19. They are particularly vulnerable without access during the pandemic to the health care resources and social structures that contribute to overall wellness. This is especially true for the 1.1 million LGBTQ people who are ages 65 and older living across the country.
June 2018 – Nursing Home is the latest in a series of ads illustrating the devastating harms many LGBT Americans face because have they no legal protection from discrimination. The new video features an older gay man and his family on the first day he moves into an assisted living facility. When the director of the facility learns the man is gay, he refuses to allow him to move in. No matter their age, and no matter who they love, no one should be turned away from a business or service provider simply because of who they are.
June 2018 – The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Masterpiece case affirmed that states can protect LGBT people from discrimination. Now it’s time for our nation’s laws to catch up to our nation’s values and protect all Americans from discrimination. Join the campaign to call on businesses to declare that they oppose discrimination and that they are Open to All. Visit www.OpenToAll.com to learn more.
December 2017 - Religious exemptions laws jeopardize the security and safety of LGBT older adults, who rely on many religiously affiliated organizations for services like congregate meals, skilled nursing, and health care.
November 2017 - For many LGBT older adults, the holidays are a time of social isolation and vulnerability. LGBT older adults are less likely to be married or partnered, and are twice as likely to live alone, leaving them particularly vulnerable to social isolation. This infographic provides resources for LGBT elders as well as information about the challenges facing LGBT older adults. The infographic is translated into six different languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic and Chinese.
September 2017 - This report takes a closer look at bisexual older adults: who they are, their unique disparities and resilience, and recommendations for competently serving the community of bisexual older adults. Both the LGBT community and the aging network can and should do more to ensure that bisexual older adults feel welcome both in LGBT spaces and in the aging network’s provision of critical services and supports.
May 2017 - Created to supplement the report Understanding Issues Facing LGBT Older Adults, this video follows Jackie and Tina, two women born in the same town in 1947 whose lives take very different turns.
May 2017 - There are approximately 2.7 million LGBT adults aged 50 and older in the United States, 1.1 million of whom are 65 and older. This report provides an overview of their unique needs and experiences so that service providers, advocates, the aging network, and policymakers can consider these factors when serving this population or passing laws that impact older adults and the LGBT community.
October 2010 - Michael Adams, executive director of Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE), talks with Sheilah Kast, host of AARP’s Inside E Street, about an array of challenges facing older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults.
September 2010 - This series of briefs digs deeper into key topics addressed in the full report. The 13 briefs cover the challenges facing LGBT elders in areas from health disparities to pensions, while offering recommendations for policy actions to improve LGBT elders’ lives.
March 2010 - This snapshot, 10-page summary of Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults provides key findings from the full report and an overview of its recommendations for eliminating—or at least reducing—inequities and improving the lives, and life chances, of LGBT elders.
March 2010 - This report examines the unique challenges facing LGBT adults as they age. It shows how social stigma and inequitable policies and laws make it hard for LGBT elders to achieve financial security, good health, healthcare, social support and community engagement.
March 2010 - This report examines the unique challenges facing LGBT adults as they age. It shows how social stigma and inequitable policies and laws make it hard for LGBT elders to achieve financial security, good health, healthcare, social support and community engagement.
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