Gay, Lesbian Senior Citizen Organization to Hear
AARP President at National Conference
SAGE launches new ad campaign: "Theres no expiration
date on a full and active life.
Ad campaign - theres
no expiration date on a full and active life
Oct. 7, 2008 The leading organization for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender senior citizens kicked off a new
advertising campaign in New York yesterday, and today announced the
program for the Fourth National Conference on LGBT Aging, which will be
sponsored this year by AARP and MetLife.
The meeting will be October 12
- 14, at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge.
The conference - Its About Time: LGBT Aging in
a Changing World by the organization Services and Advocacy for
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE), will hear a keynote
address by AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen.
In conjunction with the conference, SAGE will host
its 30th Anniversary Gala Awards event on Tuesday evening. This years
honorees include tennis legend Martina Navratilova, human rights scholar
Charlotte Bunch, and local senior support organization Village Care of
New York.
MetLife will also be honored on Monday evening for
their contributions to LGBT seniors, along with long-time LGBT aging
activist Amber Hollibaugh. During the conference, MetLife will also
host a symposium to discuss their ground-breaking study Out & Aging: The
MetLife Study of Lesbian & Gay Baby Boomers, which the company sponsored
in 2006.
The national conference will provide over 75
sessions in the areas of service delivery, program development, health &
wellness, spirituality and faith issues, policy shifts, cultural
competency training, advocacy, current research trends, sexuality,
access challenges, long term care, housing, and other topics.
By 2030, the population of LGBT seniors age 65 and
above is expected jump from 2.5 million to as many as 4.7 million,
according to SAGE.
Out and Aging: The MetLife Study of
Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers
In February 2006, in
partnership with the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the
Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the American Society on
Aging undertook the first U.S. national survey of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender baby boomers. A sample of 1,000
self-identified LGBT people ages 40 to 61 participated in the
online survey conducted by Zogby International.
Demographics of LGBT Baby
Boomers (Released Nov. 2006)
The snapshot of the typical
LGBT baby boomer that emerges in the current study is that of a
well-educated, middle-income employed adult living in a
committed relationship.
The profiles of those who
participated in the study -
● A plurality has revealed
their sexual orientation to various people in their social
network.
● Fifty-six percent of the
respondents are men, 43% are women, and 1% identify as
transgender.
● Fifty-two percent
self-identified as gay, 33% as lesbian, and 15% bisexual.
● More than half are
partnered, with 46% in civil unions or domestic partnerships and
an additional 10% in marriages.
● Slightly more than
one-third are single; another 10 percent are divorced, widowed
or separated.
● One in five is a parent
to one or more children.
● Eighty-four percent self
identified as white, 8% Hispanic, 3.5% African-American, 2.5%
Asian, and 2% as other.
The needs and challenges facing the current
generation of LGBT seniors differ from their heterosexual counterparts
in profound ways, SAGE says.
LGBT seniors are twice as likely to live alone;
half as likely to have life partners or significant others; half as
likely to have no close relatives to call for help; and four times less
likely to have children to help them.
An organization spokesperson said the conference
provides an opportunity to get the information and tools needed to
improve life for older LGBT people.
Advertising Campaign
SAGE is also launching its first major advertising
campaign, which is aimed at putting a face on LGBT seniors. Too often
invisible and ignored, the organization says, the ads show the diversity
and vibrancy of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The ads will run throughout New York City, reaching
the citys population of 9 million with the message that theres no
expiration date on a full and active life. SAGE ads will appear in
print media and in the public transportation system all over the city,
including on bus shelters, in the subway system, and on phone kiosks.
For more information and to view the ads, visit the
SAGE Website
click here.
For more information and to register for the
conference, visit:
www.sageusa.org.
The 30th Anniversary Gala & Sage Awards: Tuesday,
October 14, 2008, 6:00pm at the Metropolitan Pavilion. General tickets
are $400. For more information, or to purchase tickets,
click here.
Conference Highlights
Yanira Cruz, National Hispanic Council on Aging
Karyne Jones, CEO, National Center and Caucus on Black Aged
Traci McClellan, ED, National Indian Council on Aging, (Albuquerque)
Clayton Fong, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, Seattle
Moderator: Edwin Mendez-Santiago, New York City DFTA Commissioner
Presentation of Research (highlights):
Elder Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals: New Demographic and Policy
Analyses Lee Badgett, The Williams Institute
Research on Older Adults with HIV:
AIDS Community Research Initiative Mark Brennan, PhD
Stephen E. Karpiak, PhD, (ACRIA)
Marjorie H. Cantor, Professor Emerita and Brookdale Distinguished
Scholar,Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University.
Research on Colonoscopy Screenings in LGB
Community:
Dr. Jack Burkhalter, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Assistant
Attending Psychologist
M. Somjen Frazer, MLitt, Community Epidemiology, NYC Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene
Dr. Yuelin Li, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Shannon Farley, MPH, Community Epidemiology, NYC Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene
Methodological Challenges in Transgender Aging
and Transgender Lifecourse Research:
Tarynn M. Witten, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, Biological
Complexity, Emergency Medicine
Collaborative Program Highlights:
Several presentations on developing effective partnerships and
collaborations involving mainstream and LGBT aging service providers
across the country and internationally, including experts working in San
Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and London.
About SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders)
SAGE is the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to
serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender seniors. Since its
inception, SAGE has pioneered programs and services for seniors in the
LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand
opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a
national voice on LGBT aging issues.
In 2005 SAGE became the first
official LGBT delegate at a White House Conference on Aging. For more
information, please visit
www.sageusa.org.
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