Rainbow Senior Living

"20% of older LGBT people surveyed had absolutely nobody to call in a time of crisis. That is 10 times the national average." Interview in Glad to be Gray on BBC Radio 4

 

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It's harder to be gay than to be black

Tuesday, 07 June 2011 17:03 Rodolphe Mortreuil
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According to Wanda Sykes, an american, out comedian interviewed by CNN, it is harder to be gay today than it is to be black in the US. In a discussion with journalist Pierce Morgan, she said: “I’m not talking about the history of black people, of African Americans. I’m talking about at this point right now… I don’t know of organizations and groups like Focus on the Family and such anti-gay organizations who are putting up so much money – millions and millions of dollars – into stopping me from, you know, being black or telling me I can’t exercise my blackness. There’s no equality. There’s no equality for the LGBT community.”

Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 June 2011 17:07

LGBT Health data is too scarce

Monday, 23 May 2011 13:17 Rodolphe Mortreuil
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Once again the information comes to us from the US, which consistently appears to be years ahead of the UK in terms of overall LGBT awareness.

According to this article, the US Institute of Medicine is the one who is ringing the alarm bell on the lack of available data on sexual orientation, which impedes research on what specific health needs - if any - the LGBT population might have.

As demonstrated in the UK by the choice made once again not to ask any information about sexual orientation on the last Census questionnaire, the sexual-orientation debate is still stifled by the profound lack of understanding of the impact it has not only on sexuality but on a wide range of social and personal issues, from health to housing, from tax to ageing.

 

News from Portland

Thursday, 19 May 2011 07:57 Rodolphe Mortreuil
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An interesting article was posted online recently about Rainbow Vista, the gay retirement community in Portland, Oregon. This small care-home accommodates 12 people, which for a city with an estimated 10,000 elderly gays is the very beginning of an answer to the needs of that community. As the article writes, and as we have regularly pointed out, "LGBT seniors are more likely to rely on nursing homes and other institutions for long-term care because many are single, childless or estranged from their biological families" and traditional care operations simply will not do because "Many elders also reported they could not be open with facility staff out their health needs. Some [...] even reported that they had been denied medical care because of their sexuality".

While this kind of discrimination is not common, the perception of security for LGBT seniors is the important factor, even more than the homophobia which may or may not be present in their place of care. As an interviewee puts it: "I would like to think I have the guts not to go back in the closet, but in 15 years when I'm frail... I'm not sure I'll be strong enough."

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 May 2011 08:02

Answer to guest post

Thursday, 19 May 2011 12:01 Rodolphe Mortreuil
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Upon reading GayToDecember's latest article, I was once more distraught by the recurring theme of stress and emotional suffering that partners of ailing seniors sometimes have to face.
This is not a new issue and there is a lot of documentation and writing on the hardships faced by carers, whether they be professionals, family or close friends. Nearly all of that literature however concerns straight people. It seems at first glance that nobody out there knows about the added difficulties that occur when the ailing senior is gay.
Last Updated on Monday, 23 May 2011 10:58 Read more...

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