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ASSOCIATION FOCUS


SERVICE AND ADVOCACY IN A GAY ENVIRONMENT (SAGE)


46


On any given weekday in New York City, Services and Advocacy in a Gay Environment (SAGE) off ers its mem- bers a full day of activities. For example, on T ursday, January 27, members can participate in “Senior Elders” (a support group for ages 75 and up), “SAGE Singers,” “Men’s 40+ Rap” or “SAGERCIZE.” Activities are held at its LGBT Center downtown and its Harlem Independent Living Center. (SAGE has four offi ces in Manhattan.) Unquestionably, the community of aging LGBT adults in New York has a rich, thriving resource in SAGE. Founded in 1978 as Senior Action in a Gay


BY KARA MAYER ROBINSON


clients. SAGE also supports caregivers and care recipients who are part of the aging LGBT community with a variety of programs including counseling, support groups, benefi ts and entitlement assistance, a Friendly Visitor Program, and limited subsidies for home health care and adult day care.


“ LGBT PEOPLE ARE OF ALL GENERATIONS. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PIONEERS WHO NEED RESPECT.” – MICHAEL ADAMS


Environment, SAGE changed its name about 10 years ago in order to emphasize both the services and advocacy components of its work and mission. It is now the world’s oldest and largest nonprofi t agency addressing the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender elders. It off ers an extensive network of community-based services and out- reach programs including daily drop-in discussions, support groups, fi nancial counseling, health and wellness activities, and sex, dating, and romance workshops. SAGE also provides a host of clinical and social services


programs to LGBT people over the age of 60 (age 50 if HIV+). T is includes case management, individual and group counseling, and telephone services for homebound


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®


A NEW WAVE OF DISCRIMINATION Often overlooked, members of the aging LGBT community frequently face discrimination, much of which occurs in the realm of older adult care. Even with the progress of LGBT civil rights over the years, elder care providers—such as home health care workers, assisted living or residential care facilities—neglect to consider that their clients may be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. When erroneous assumptions are made, client discomfort ensues. According to SAGE, large numbers of elders have reported feeling isolated and harassed at a time when they need help and support. As a result, there’s a tendency for some LGBT older adults to go “back in the closet.” According to SAGE, they may be as much as fi ve times less likely to access necessary health and social services because of their fear of being discriminated against by service providers. “LGBT people are of all generations,” says


Michael Adams, SAGE’s executive director. “T ere tends to be an image of younger people at gay pride parades, out in clubs, and other settings like that. But the reality is that it’s a multigenerational community who has its own


pioneers who need to be respected and supported.” During the senior years, a time when the need for


support increases, LGBT’s support systems tend to shrink. In fact, says Adams, LGBT older people are twice as likely than heterosexual older adults to live alone and more than four times as likely to have no children. Community services and outreach programs at SAGE become espe- cially important at this increasingly vulnerable time in their lives.


POSITIONING POLICY T e impact of SAGE extends far beyond New York. Knowing that things won’t change until more people


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