A Brief But Spectacular take on caring for LGBTQ+ seniors

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Older LGBTQ adults face a number of challenges, especially when it comes to finding housing and care.

  Sage, a national advocacy leader in this space, created a system of training programs for care providers.

  Tonight, you will hear from housing director Nikki Moustafa, who highlights how the training has improved her team's ability to support residents.

• Nikki Moustafa, Housing Director, H.O.M.E.:

  No, none of my pieces match at all.

• Britta Larson, SAGECare Trainer:

  Sadly, approximately 70 percent of LGBTQ older adults go back in the closet when they enter a skilled nursing facility. And that statistic makes me so sad, because it's no quality of life to be hiding who you are, to not be your authentic self, to basically be forced to live a lie.

  I have worked in the field of aging for 20 years. I originally worked at a long-term care community in the Chicagoland area. However, they were faith-based and, I would say, homophobic. And so I identify as part of the LGBTQ community, and I didn't feel safe or comfortable identifying as part of the community while I was working there.

  And so I left. LGBTQ older adults are very marginalized and vulnerable in many different ways. They are much less likely to be aging with family support. And they're twice as likely to be living alone compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers.

• Brian Dennis, H.O.M.E. Resident:

  My name is Brian Dennis. I'm 70 years old.

  I think I always knew that I was gay. I arrived at H.O.M.E because I lived down the street, and they sold the building. So I just had to find some place. And this was the first place that I actually looked at. It's a nice place to be.

• Britta Larson:

  H.O.M.E. is a great model for LGBTQ-inclusive programs and services.

  They are SAGECare credentialed. That means that they put an emphasis on making sure all of their programs and services are inclusive and welcoming for LGBTQ older adults.

• Nikki Moustafa:

  Several years ago, H.O.M.E. decided that we wanted to better support all of our seniors in our building. So we decided to do the stage care training.

• Britta Larson:

  SAGECare was developed in 2016 as a model for organizations to receive training and then become credentialed. Currently, there are over 1,000 SAGECare-credentialed organizations across the country. And they have trained over 250,000 people.

  When I do a SAGECare training, it's important for me to highlight really the unique barriers that LGBTQ older adults are having in the aging process. These LGBTQ older adults that we're serving, they have lived through a lifetime of discrimination. And so that absolutely takes a toll on their well-being. They're more likely to be lower-income.

  They are more likely to have chronic health conditions at a younger age.

• Nikki Moustafa:

  I hope that my work has just made people feel less alone.

• Brian Dennis:

  Nikki is a great person. You could go and talk to her about anything.

• Nikki Moustafa:

  I met Brian in 2016, and we instantly hit it off. We're both goofballs. We both love trashy reality TV.

  I picked an impossible puzzle to do.

  (Laughter)

• Brian Dennis:

  Well, what else is new?

• Nikki Moustafa:

  I hope that I have created an environment where everyone feels safe and feels seen.

• Britta Larson:

  LGBTQ older adults really did pave the way for many of us today in terms of our rights in this country. But they shouldn't have to feel like they need to continue to fight for their rights and be activists as they're aging. And we are all aging, so we will all be there someday.

  So, if we can put these programs and services into place now, they will be there for us when we need it.

  My name is Britta Larson, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on feeling at H.O.M.E.

• Amna Nawaz:

  And you can watch more of our Brief But Spectacular videos on aging online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Longevity.