The LGBT Elder Initiative is launching a GoFundMe campaign to help expand our educational programming and advocacy efforts to ensure that LGBT older adults are able to age with the dignity that we all deserve. We are working toward a vision of an aging services system in which people of all gender identities and sexual orientations are able to access care, resources, and supports that are LGBT-sensitive and inclusive. Your support of our work will help move us closer to making that vision a reality.
To contribute to this campaign, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/lgbtelders
Support our LGBT Elders!
Think of it – older members of the LGBT community have lived through a lot.
We grew up in a world that was overwhelmingly hostile to our sexual orientations and gender identities. Yet as we came out to family, friends, and employers, we paved the way to a far more tolerant and accepting society. We survived the social panic and political hysteria of the early years of the AIDS epidemic. After decades of struggle, we’ve even lived to see the right to same-sex marriage become the law of the land.
Now, as we grow older, we face isolation and potentially debilitating health issues that come with aging. But even worse, there is a growing movement in our society that would like nothing better than to turn back the clock and force LGBT elders back into the closet.
We cannot let that happen.
Join us in supporting the LGBT Elder Initiative in our vision of a world where LGBT older adults have rights and opportunities to live vibrant, creative, and mutually supportive lives. Your support can make that vision a reality, as we build bridges between aging services, healthcare, and LGBT community organizations and consumers through advocacy, information, education and referral.
In the coming year, we will be working to build a more LGBT culturally competent aging services network across Pennsylvania. We will be developing and strengthening partnerships with healthcare institutions, homecare agencies, and managed care providers in the Greater Philadelphia region to ensure greater inclusivity and LGBT sensitivity.
Our educational programming will improve community health and connect LGBT older adults, particularly those who are traditionally underserved, with the resources and services needed to age well. This year’s programming will give special focus to issues of social isolation, housing and long-term care, aging with HIV, and managing chronic conditions.
Simply put, we are committed to ensuring that all LGBT older adults are able to age successfully with access to services and resources that are competent, culturally sensitive, inclusive, and responsive to our unique needs. Especially in these political times, we will fight to ensure that members of our communities will never be forced back into the closet in order to access services as they age. After all we’ve lived through, we are ready to age with the success and dignity we all deserve!
If you prefer to donate by check, make checks payable to “LGBT Elder Initiative” and mail to:
LGBT Elder Initiative
1315 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107