SAGE conference brings LGBT seniors together

Activists from across the country participated in Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders' national conference and expo in Midtown Manhattan on Nov. 11-13.

Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, explained the gathering-The Future of Aging is in Our Hands: A National Conference and Expo for LGBT Older Adults-addressed a range of issues from public policy, personal finances and health and wellness. These specifically include the reauthorization of the federal Older Americans Act to activism, aging and HIV/AIDS, sexuality, spirituality, finding financial and legal security, retirement, caregivers and self-empowerment.

"The last SAGE conference was much more for the academics and professionals, and this one is for people who are old," said Sandy Warshaw of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change and a member of the conference planning committee who spoke on a plenary panel about the Older Americans Act. "At some of the academic conferences, it seems the professionals are telling us what we need. At this conference, we're here to say what it is we need."

Author Jonathan Ned Katz moderated the opening plenary that featured Mandy Carter, co-founder of the National Black Justice Coalition; traditional Cherokee-Choctaw healer Patty L. Collins; Robert Nakatani of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT and AIDS Project; Jos� Martin Garcia Ordu�a of the Manhattan HIV CARE Network and Barbara Satin of the Institute for Welcoming Resources and Faith Work Associate.

Panelists had an opportunity to share how they began their activism, their path and discuss issues that specifically impact LGBT elders. Carter, who noted the majority of Americans would be people of color by 2050, stressed the importance of LGBT seniors joining with them, rather than blaming them for the passage of California's Proposition 8 and other things.

"It is one thing to ignore the people who laid the foundation, but it is adding insult to injury to blame people of color for Prop 8," said Carter. "We have got to have diversity... to partner with people of color aging groups, to find funders to put the money behind it. Are we as an LGBT movement about justice, or are we about just us?"

Collins, who identified as "a two-spirit person reaching across 500 years of darkness", also spoke about the need to work with "a true Rainbow Coalition" to help SAGE grow and thrive.

Satin, a transgender woman from the Twin Cities, trains senior care providers and communities of faith around the concerns and issues of LGBT seniors. Despite recent legislative advances around the country, Satin stressed the need for LGBT seniors to continue to advocate on their own behalf.

Nakatani stressed the need for advocacy to go beyond litigation, noting gay adoptions in Florida in spite of Anita Bryant and other anti-LGBT figures' efforts. He noted Edie Windsor, a longtime SAGE supporter and conference co-planner featured in the documentary Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement, and others who share their personal stories go a long way towards changing attitudes. And Ordu�a, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, recalled an older set of friends who "taught me there was a history of us, of human rights fights ahead, and how to make change one by one. They taught me one day to wear gray and to be proud."

"We are losing people and knowledge, losing this link between the young and old," said Ordu�a. "But we cannot lose our history and our passion for living. The future is built on our legacy."

At a women's panel on Friday, Nov. 12, attendees shared their experiences as older gay people. Many women spoke about how aging had forced them back into a closet out of which they had fought so hard to get out, about being disempowered by disability, age and a lack of mobility. Many said they were grateful to OLOC for giving them a sense of community across diverse groups, saying, "The only minority we will all be a part of is being old-if we're lucky."

In addition to an expo of 25 vendors from local organizations and senior care advocacy organizations, the conference offered free financial and legal planning services. Breakout groups discussed sexuality and aging, emotional issue of retirement, overcoming the technology hurdle, community-driven advocacy, and of course, legislation impacting seniors.

"There's a lot more that the Obama administration can do for older Americans, both within the context of [the legislation] and senior programs," said Warshaw as she discussed the Older Americans Act. "There's always a question of how many old people will use old people's programs, centers and so forth. But my concern is I just read this new budget deficit reduction act, and I am afraid of what is going to be boomeranging on old people as a result of this act."

She offered additional insight.

"I think years ago there was a movement that people called "greedy geezers", going back to 1995, think this will boomerang onto old people not only because they think Social Security is not going to last-which it is going to last-but it becomes an excuse to attack old people," added Warshaw. "Whether you are LGBT or heaven forbid in the mainstream, I think we have to get together with those people working with old people and understand this is not ageism but the counterpart to homophobia, and that picking on old people and bullying old people is going to become something very acceptable in the next few years because of this deficit reduction."

Adams added the conference allows SAGE to continue its mission to share ideas, knowledge and advocate on behalf of LGBT seniors.

"Thirty-two years ago, we made a decision to do something about the lack of space and dignity for older LGBT people, so we formed the organization then called Senior Action in a Gay Environment," he said. "People said there was too much ageism in the LGBT community for this to work, but they knew differently. The premise was always that the older members of the community need to be in the lead, and our mission has not changed one iota. We strive for greater quality of life for LGBT seniors. Who would have thought that the government would step forward and acknowledge that these seniors are paving the way for a better world for the LGBT community?"

Log onto www.sageusa.org for more information.