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Aired Aug 18, 2022

National Senior Citizens Day

LGBTQ+ elders are fierce advocates and pioneers that fought for many of the rights and protections that exist today. They also express fears about accessing culturally competent healthcare care, social isolation, and being forced to “re-closet” themselves when the moved into a senior care facility. 

We hosted a conversation about this article as a part of PFLAG Connects and Something to Talk About Live on Thursday, August 18. Did you miss it? You can still watch it here!   

Article: Recent executive order champions rights of LGBTQ seniors in care communities

Source: Seniors Matter

Author: Melanie Kalmar

Questions for Discussion:

  1. Prior to reading this article, had you ever thought about the kinds of challenges facing LGBTQ+ seniors? Why or why not? 

  2. Do you know of any services or programs in the community where you live for LGBTQ+ seniors? If yes, what are they? If no, how could you find this information so you could be a resource to someone else?

  3. This article acknowledges the importance of President Biden’s Executive Order as it pertains to the care of LGBTQ+ seniors. However, it also acknowledges that Executive Orders aren’t a reliable and permanent solution. How can you use the issue of equity for LGBTQ+ seniors as another argument to make the case to a legislator for their support of the Equality Act?

Bonus Resources: Check out “What LGBTQ Seniors Face in Assisted Living and Care Facilities” from the Mpls.St.Paul Magazine by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred and “LGBTQ Adults 45+ Are Worried About Discrimination and Support as They Age” from AARP by Cassandra Cantave.  

About Our Guests:

Aaron Tax, Managing Director of Government Affairs and Policy Advocacy, SAGE

Sherrill Wayland, Director of Special Initiatives, SAGE

Ways to Watch:

Also available on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn 

Something to Talk About Live is a series designed by PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality program to create conversation about LGBTQ+ issues. Each week we offer an article on LGBTQ+ topics and suggest a few questions you can use to lead a discussion with your ERG, community group, or PFLAG chapter.