By 365gay Newswire
10.22.2009 11:15am EDT
(Washington) The Department of Health and Human Services will establish a national resource center to help communities support and serve their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) elders.
Through its Administration on Aging, HHS will award a single resource grant in the amount of $250,000 annually, depending on the availability of funds. According to HHS, the center will provide resources to LGBT organizations, as well assisting mainstream aging services providers in developing cultural competence in serving LGBT elders.

“Despite the many advances our community has seen, LGBT elders face significant discrimination from senior care providers, including in places where we are most vulnerable, such as assisted living facilities and end-of-life care,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “As more and more openly LGBT people reach their later years, it is incredibly important to ensure that we are treated with dignity, respect and fairness. We applaud HHS for taking this important step on behalf of older LGBT Americans.”

HRC and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) host a collaborative forum on LGBT aging issues, available at www.hrc.org/issues/aging/. As part of the New Beginning Initiative, coordinated by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, SAGE has advocated for policy changes that would benefit LGBT elders. Earlier this month, the Administration on Aging issued the first-ever grant focused on LGBT aging to the Los Angeles LGBT Community Service Center.
“SAGE, the entire LGBT aging field, and all those who work with and care for LGBT older adults, are thrilled by this announcement,” Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, said in a statement. “For too long, programs that serve LGBT older people have been ignored and shut out from most public funding, and there has been no federal funding to help mainstream aging services become educated about and sensitive to the unique needs of LGBT older adults. This resource center is a truly historic recognition of the needs of LGBT older adults across the country and will make a huge difference in the lives of so many seniors.”