At Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Aging’s most recent listening session, hosted by and held at Fenway Health, older LGBT adults raised concerns ranging from the ability of assisted living and nursing home facilities to meet the needs of aging LGBTQ people, to racism and LGBTQ bias, to HIV/AIDS, to social isolation.
It was 2019’s third and final listening session on aging concerns, all hosted by Fenway. The previous two were held on the Cape in June and in Pittsfield in September.
A press release from Fenway Institute’s LGBT Aging Project recounted key concerns raised at this most recent session, held earlier in December:
At least five of the 25 LGBTQIA+ older adults who attended the session are long-term survivors of HIV.
“If I have to go into a nursing home, as someone living with HIV, how do I know that anyone there will know how to take care of me?” asked one man who had recently been hospitalized on the South Shore only to discover that none of the doctors who saw him were familiar with the complicated needs of long-term survivors of HIV.
Others expressed deep concern about the expense of healthcare insurance. One man said that nearly one-third of his monthly Social Security check went toward HIV-related healthcare costs not covered by insurance.
Nearly all of the long-term HIV survivors who spoke at the session had been affected by a recent decision by the state to change the eligibility requirements of the Massachusetts Insurance Connection, a program which was created to cover gaps in health care insurance commonly faced by long-term survivors of HIV.
Others described feeling socially isolated in an increasingly fragmented and disconnected LGBTQIA+ culture. “I barely leave my house because there’s no place to go,” one commented.
Several talked about the complexity of having to deal with racism in addition to anti-LGBTQIA+ bias and noted that it was not uncommon to experience racism from white members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“It’s hostile. It’s unforgiving. I have been in this community for a long time and I am astounded at how exclusive it continues to be,” said one man.
Still others noted that they simply did not feel comfortable approaching councils on aging and other agencies affiliated with state and local government.
“I grew up in a time when you didn’t ask for help,” one said, referring to the fact that until relatively recently, police routinely harassed or even arrested LGBTQIA+ people. Their alleged transgressions were never more than engaging in same-sex sexual behavior or violating gender variance laws prohibiting women from wearing men’s clothing and vice versa.
Some also noted that they simply didn’t want to have to deal with heterosexual people who are “set in their ways” regarding LGBTQIA+ people.
“It’s very hard. There are people in their 70s and 80s who have their opinions and they’re not going to change,” one said. …
“These listening sessions are critical to the Commission’s work,” said Commission cochair and state Senator Pat Jehlen of Somerville, who led the session along with Commission cochair and state Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton.
“They help us understand what the current issues and challenges are across the Commonwealth. Hearing directly from our constituents allows us to listen and make recommendations to improve access to benefits and services where appropriate and necessary,” Jehlen said.
Also attending was Commission member Carole Malone, assistant secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs.
For more, go to the LGBT Aging Project website.
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