DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
FEATURE STORY
Many forward-thinking senior living providers are acknowledging the diversity of their staff and clients and working to make sure everyone is cared for and respected.
Inclusive Senior Living The generation that fought for the rights of people of color and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals is aging. While the world has undoubtedly become more inclusive since their youth, there is still work to be done. To serve all older adults, senior living communities and service providers need to be cognizant of and dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. Increasingly, senior living providers are acknowledging the diversity of their staff and clients. These forward thinking providers are working to make sure that everyone is comfortable and respected. Our seniors and senior living providers— all of them—deserve no less. Positive Aging Sourcebook is dedicated to helping senior living providers promote diversity and inclusion. We have held numerous digital discussions on equity, inclusion and diversity in senior living to advance acceptance and expand understanding. View past conversations or join future discussions at retirementlivingsourcebook.com/ digital-discussions. LGBTQ Seniors Many of the LGBTQ seniors who are seeking senior living services today are the same individuals who struggled to come out to friends, 800-394-9990 | positiveagingsourcebook.com
families, and employers for decades because of fear of discrimination. Now, as they face retirement living decisions, they are again fearful that their lifestyle will lead to discrimination or the outright refusal of services. Unlike other seniors, LGBTQ older adults are less likely to have children to help them in their later years. They may also be estranged from their families. This demographic is far more likely to rely solely on a partner or close friend for their care as they age. In 2010, a groundbreaking documentary film addressed the dilemmas of LGBTQ seniors. Gen Silent profiles six LGBTQ seniors in the Boston area. Many of them are struggling with the decision to hide their sexuality to survive the long-term health care system. Unfortunately, the seniors profiled in Gen Silent are not isolated examples. A 2018 analysis by University of Washington professor Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen concluded that unique prevention and intervention strategies needed to be developed to address the needs of queer seniors. The study noted that the number of LGBTQ seniors is expected to double to more than four million by 2030. During a recent Positive Aging digital discussion, Jennifer Marie Brown, the community relations
To serve all older adults, senior living communities and service providers need to be cognizant of and dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. manager at Seabury Resources for Aging, explained the historical context that drives distrust among LGBTQ seniors. “During McCarthyism, people lost their jobs, people were hounded out of a lot of federal government positions here in the DMV, because they were gay and lesbians. And it made them even more closeted, more guarded, more suspect of being out or public about who they were,” she said. Brown continued, “As we provide services for 80-year-olds, 85-yearolds, they are very leery of the consequences of being out in a retirement community or with home health care providers. They lived a life in which it was not okay to be queer in the workplace, was not okay to be queer in a house of worship, was not okay to be queer in the PTA, was not Continued on page 18
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