SWITCHING GEARS NOW TO NEW YORK'S AGING POPULATION WHICH INCLUDES THE FOURTH LARGEST COLLECTION OF SENIORS IN THE COUNTRY WERE HIGHLIGHTING A SUBSET OF THIS GROUP OFTEN OVERLOOKED, OLDER LGBTQ+ NEW YORKERS WHO CAN STRUGGLE TO FIND COMMUNITY OR ACCESS CRITICAL SERVICES.

WMHT'S WILL PEDIGO SAT DOWN WITH MJ OKMA, SENIOR MANAGER OF ADVOCACY AND GOVERNOR RELATIONS AT SAGE, WHICH ADVOCATES FOR LGBTQ+ ELDERS AND THEY DISCUSSED THE CHALLENGES FACING THESE NEW YORKERS AND THE HELP THAT IS AVAILABLE.

[ THEME MUSIC ] MY NAME IS MJ OKMA.

I DO POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AT THE NEW YORK CITY AND STATE LEVEL FOR AN ORGANIZATION CALLED SAGE.

WE PROVIDE SERVICES AND ADVOCACY FOR LGBTQ+ ELDERS AND OLDER NEW YORKERS WHO ARE LIVING WITH HIV.

OFTENTIMES AN LGBTQ+ WE HEAR A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT YOUTH AND THAT'S IN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT POLICY AND NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT.

ELDERS KIND OF FACE THIS DOUBLE INVISIBILITY WHERE THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS SPOKEN ABOUT IN AGING SPACES BUT THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS SPOKEN ABOUT OR DIRECTLY ADDRESSED IN LGBTQ+ SPACES AND THAT CAN RENDER THEM AS INVISIBLE.

SO THERE'S A MAJOR IMPORTANCE IN MAKING SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHT THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT AGING AS AN LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUAL COMES WITH.

THERE IS, YOU KNOW, MANY DISPARITIES THAT LGBTQ+ ELDERS FACE.

YOU'RE WORKING WITH A COMMUNITY THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THERE REALLY WAS NO OUT SPACES WHEN THEY WERE GROWING UP.

SO THERE WAS NO WAY FOR THEM TO ACCESS SUPPORT SYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES WITHOUT RELYING ON MUTUAL AID AND UNDERGROUND SYSTEMS OR HIDING PORTIONS OF WHO THEY ARE.

SO WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH FOLKS WHO HAVE THIS LIFETIME OF COMPOUNDING DISCRIMINATION, IT LEADS TO A LOT OF DISPARITIES.

IT LEADS TO SOCIAL ISOLATION, HEALTH DISPARITIES.

THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE, MORE LIKELY TO BE FOOD INSECURE AND ALL OF THESE ARE JUST A RESULT OF THE DISCRIMINATION THAT THEY FACE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFETIME.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE ROOTS OF THE LGBTQ+ RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHICH STARTED HERE IN NEW YORK, THE STONEWALL UPRISING WAS ALL ABOUT THE RIGHT TO GATHER IN COMMUNITY AND BE YOUR FULL SELF WITHOUT BEING HARASSED BY THE POLICE.

THIS ALL HAPPENED IN THESE FOLKS' LIFETIME SO THEY CARRY THAT TRAUMA AND DISCRIMINATION THAT THEY FACED INTO THEMSELVES LIKE AS THEY AGE AND AS THEY WORK TO ACCESS AGING SERVICES.

SO THERE ARE REAL CASES OF DISCRIMINATION THAT STILL HAPPEN BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY.

WE'RE SEEING THAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT THERE'S ALSO JUST THAT FEAR OF SHOWING UP AS YOUR FULL SELF BECAUSE IN THE BACK OF THEIR MINDS THERE'S THAT IDEA OF I'VE BEEN HARMED FROM THIS BEFORE, HOW DO I KNOW IT'S SAFE THIS TIME?

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ADVANCES IN NEW YORK TO GIVE PROTECTIONS ON FOLKS BASED ON DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO OLDER ADULTS, THAT DOESN'T ERASE THE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY'VE HAD LEADING UP TO THIS POINT IN THEIR LIVES.

JOB DISCRIMINATION, DISCRIMINATION ACCESSING HOUSING, BEING CUT OFF FROM THEIR FAMILIES, ALL OF THIS IMPACTS SOMEONE'S SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND MAKES IT SO LGBTQ+ ELDERS ARE MORE RELIANT ON THESE SERVICES BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO BUILD THE SAME WEALTH AND STABILITY THAT FOLKS WHO ARE NOT LGBTQ HAVE.

THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MAJOR BILLS THAT HAVE PASSED IN NEW YORK STATE RECENTLY.

THE FIRST PASSED IN 2022 AND THAT WAS TO DESIGNATE LGBTQ+ ELDERS AND OLDER NEW YORKERS LIVING WITH HIV AS WHAT IS CALLED POPULATIONS OF GREATEST SOCIAL NEED UNDER NEW YORK STATE'S INTERPRETATION OF THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT.

THAT SOUNDS REALLY WONKY AND BUREAUCRATIC, BUT BASICALLY WHAT POPULATION OF GREATEST SOCIAL NEEDS ARE ANYTHING OTHER THAN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS THAT IMPACTS ONE'S ABILITY TO THRIVE AND AGE IN PLACE IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

SO SOMEONE LIVING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY HAS A POPULATION OF GREATER SOCIAL NEED, BREAKING DOWN BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, THOSE ARE POP LAYINGS OF GREATER SOCIAL NEED.

WHAT THIS BILL THAT GOT SIGNED INTO LAW IN 2022 DOES IS ADDS LGBTQ+ PEOPLE AND OLDER NEW YORKERS LIVING WITH HIV INTO THOSE CATEGORIES WHICH MEANS AGING SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE TO START COLLECTING DATA AND REPORTING ON HOW THEY'RE BEST SERVING THAT POPULATION AND ALSO JUST RAISES GENERAL AWARENESS ABOUT THE DISPARITIES THAT THEY FACE.

ONE THING THAT WE SEE A LOT AMONG LGBTQ+ ELDERS IS THAT THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE CHILDREN AND LESS LIKELY TO BE CONNECTED WITH THEIR BIOLOGICAL FAMILIES.

SO THEY REALLY RELY ON THEMSELVES AND LIKE MUTUAL SUPPORT NET WORKS AS THEY AGE, BUT THAT CAN LEAD TO ITS OWN PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW, THEIR SUPPORT NETWORKS CAN PASS AWAY.

THEY CAN LOSE TOUCH WITH THEM.

IT BECOMES A VERY ISOLATING EXPERIENCE.

BECAUSE THE DISTRUST THAT THEY HAVE BASED ON EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION, IT CAN BE REALLY HARD FOR THEM TO FIND THOSE NEW SUPPORTS AS THEY AGE.

I THINK IN AN IDEAL WORLD, ANY ELDER COULD WALK THROUGH ANY SOCIAL SERVICE DOOR AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN BE THEIR FULL SELVES IN THAT SPACE.

THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE FACING NOW IS THAT MANY HIGH ASPECTS OF THEMSELVES AND PART OF THAT COULD BE BECAUSE THEY'RE UNSAFE BUT PART OF IT IS FEAR THAT IT'S GOING TO BE UNSAFE, SO IN AN IDEAL SITUATION, WE WOULD HAVE ANY LGBTQ+ ELDER OR ANY ELDER AT ALL ACROSS NEW YORK STATE WOULD KNOW THAT THEY CAN WALK THROUGH THE DOORS TO ACCESS SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND BE ABLE TO BE THEIR FULL SELVES.

THERE ARE CASES OF OVERT DISCRIMINATION.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF GENDER IDENTITY OR THINK THAT SOMETHING IS INHERENTLY WRONG WITH BEING LGBTQ, BUT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF WELL-MEANING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE AGING SERVICE NETWORK WHO JUST MIGHT NOT BE COMPETENT, LGBTQ+ COMPETENT OR HIV COMPETENT TO BEST MEET THE NEEDS OF THESE ELDERS SO WHEN SOMEONE WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR ON HIGH ALERT, FEARING DISCRIMINATION, CARRYING WITH THEM ALL THIS TRAUMA THEY'VE HAD IN THE PAST, THEY'RE GOING TO PICK UP ON THOSE SLIGHT TURNS OF PHRASES THAT SEND THEM A MESSAGE THAT THEY'RE UNWELCOME, EVEN IF THAT WASN'T INTENTIONAL.

I MEAN, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OLDER ADULT CENTERS, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES, ANYONE THAT SERVES ELDERS ACROSS THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK TO BE LGBTQ+ COMPETENT IN THE AFFIRMING SPACES SO IDEALLY ELDERS WILL KNOW WHATEVER DOORS THEY WALK THROUGH THEY WILL FIND AN AFFIRMING SPACE AND A SPACE THEY CAN BRING THEIR FULL SELFS AND NOT HIDE ASPECTS OF WHO THEY ARE TO ACCESS SERVICES.

ONE CHALLENGE THAT SAGE HAS FACED IF OUR WORK AROUND ADVOCACY FOR LGBTQ ELDERS IS BECAUSE THEY'RE SO INVISIBLE OFTENTIMES, THERE'S REALLY NOT A WHOLE LOT OF DATA AVAILABLE ON THEIR NEEDS.

SO IN 2020, WE PARTNERED WITH AARP NEW YORK TO WORK TOGETHER TO COLLECT THAT DATA AND PUT TOGETHER A REPORT ON DISPARITIES FACING THE LGBTQ+ ELDER COMMUNITY AND THAT REPORT IS CALLED, "DISRUPTING DISPARITIES," AND IT REALLY HIGHLIGHTS IN ALL AREAS FROM SOCIAL ISOLATION TO SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS TO HEALTH, ALL OF THE WAYS THAT THIS LIFETIME OF COMPOUNDING DISCRIMINATION HAS TAKEN A TOLL AND LIKE LEADS TO DISPARITIES, AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THIS COMMUNITY IS NOT VERY RESILIENT AND VERY STRONG.

THEY HAD ALL THESE FACTORS OUTSIDE OF THEIR CONTROL THAT HAVE LIMITED THEIR SUCCESS TO SUCCESSFULLY AGE IN THE SAME WAY AS THEIR NON-LGBTQ+ PEERS AND THE DATA THAT WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER WITH AARP NEW YORK IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN DISPLAYING THAT AND HAS BEEN A POWERFUL TOOL FOR ADVOCACY TO GET CHANGES IN ALBANY.

ONE OF THE BILLS THAT WE'VE RECENTLY BEEN ABLE TO PUSH THROUGH AND GET PASSED IN THE LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR IS THE LGBTQ+ AND HIV LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES BILL OF RIGHTS.

WHAT THIS BILL DOES IS REALLY TWO-FOLD.

ONE, IT WOULD REQUIRE MANDATORY TRAINING FOR ALL STAFF THAT WORKS FACE TO FACE WITH RESIDENTS TO GET LGBTQ+ AND HIV COMPETENCY TRAINING, AND THE SECOND IS IT REALLY TRANSLATES NON-DISCRIMINATION LAW THAT EXISTS IN NEW YORK STATE ALREADY INTO THESE SETTINGS AND SETS CLEAR PARAMETERS OF WHAT IS AND ISN'T ALLOWED FROM THESE PROVIDERS WHEN THEY'RE WORKING WITH LGBTQ+ ELDERS AND OLDER NEW YORKERS LIVING WITH HIV.

BECAUSE LGBTQ+ ELDERS ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ADULT CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO BE CONNECTED WITH THEIR BIOLOGICAL FAMILY.

STATISTICALLY THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE TO RELY ON LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES AS THEY AGE, BUT THEY ALSO, WE WERE GETTING REPORTS OF DISCRIMINATION FACED IN THOSE SETTINGS.

SO THIS BILL REALLY WAS STEPPING UP TO THAT AND SAYING, LIKE THIS IS A HIGH NEED.

WE HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF LGBTQ+ ELDERS ENTERING THESE FACILITIES AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE SAFE AND WELCOMING PLACES FOR THEM TO BE.

EVEN THOUGH NEW YORK STATE ALREADY HAD PROTECTION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY, WHAT WE WERE SEEING WHEN POPULATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH IS THERE WAS A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THAT TRANSLATED INTO A LONG-TERM CARE SETTINGS AND EVEN STAFF THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WELL-MEANING WERE INEFFECTIVELY REALLY HARMING FOLKS AND SENDING THE MESSAGE THAT THEY WEREN'T WELCOME THERE.

WE HAVE A CASE OF A PARTICIPANT WHO WORKED WITH, WHO IS A LONG-TERM SURVIVOR OF HIV WAS LOOKING TO BE PLACED IN A LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY IN HIS HOMETOWN OF ALBANY.

SAT DOWN FORTH INTAKE.

AS SOON AS HE DISCLOSED HIS HIV STATUS HE WAS MET WITH, WELL, WOULDN'T YOU BE BETTER SERVED IN NEW YORK CITY?

ISN'T THAT A BETTER SPACE FOR YOU?

THAT STAFF MEMBER MIGHT HAVE BEEN WELL-MEANING BUT THE MESSAGE THAT WAS SENT TO THAT INDIVIDUAL IS THAT YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO SERVE YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR HIV STATUS, AND THAT'S WHY SOMETHING LIKE THIS BILL IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

ALL NEW YORKERS, AS THEY AGE, THEY'RE FACED WITH AGEISM AND THEY'RE FACED WITH PEOPLE IGNORING THEIR NEEDS OR FEELING THAT THEIR AUTONOMY IS STRIPPED AWAY JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE.

IF YOU ADD ONTO THAT DISCRIMINATION THAT YOU FACE FOR BEING LGBTQ+ THAT JUST COMPOUNDS AND MAKES IT EVEN HARDER TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF.

UNDERSTANDING THAT A LOT OF AGING SERVICE PROVIDERS ACROSS THIS STATE MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF HOW TO BEST SERVE LGBTQ+ ELDERS, SAGE DOES RUN A TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WE CALL SAGE CARE AND ANYONE WHO IS LOOKING TO FIND SERVICES THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN KNOW THAT THE STAFF HAS BEEN TRAINED ON THIS, THEY CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE, SAGEUSA.ORG, AND THEY CAN LOOK AT WHAT PROVIDERS IN THEIR AREA HAVE BEEN SAGE CARE CERTIFIED.

[ THEME MUSIC ] YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SAGE AND THEIR ADVOCACY FOR LGBTQ+ NEW YORKERS ON OUR WEBSITE, NYNOW.ORG, AND FOR MORE