LGBTQ+ seniors who live in rural communities often face barriers to support and resources due to geography, costs, insufficient broadband, lack of affirming-care providers, or stigma.
But the Elder Pride Act would update the Older Americans Act and provide funding for services to help LGBTQ+ seniors. Photo: Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
LGBTQ+ seniors and seniors living with HIV who reside in rural communities often face barriers to support and resources due to geography, costs, insufficient broadband, lack of affirming-care providers, or stigma.
But the Elder Pride Act would update the Older Americans Act and provide funding for services to help LGBTQ+ seniors.
Between 2.9 and 3.8 million LGBTQ+ people live in rural American communities, according to data from the Movement Advancement Project.
“Many of our LGBTQI+ elders fought tirelessly for equality in a world that refused to accept their identity,” Sharice Davids, (D-KS), a cochair of the Congressional Equality Caucus’s LGBTQI+ Aging Issues Task Force, said in a statement. Davids, who identifies as a lesbian, and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Mark Pocan (D-WI), who identifies as gay, introduced the bill Thursday.
“While they overcame tremendous odds to give future generations the rights they deserve, our elders, particularly those in rural communities,” she said, “continue to face discrimination when accessing long-term care and health care.”
The Elder Pride Act “will improve the overall health and social and economic well-being of LGBTQI+ older adults and seniors living with HIV in rural areas by better equipping senior service providers with resources to address the unique needs of these communities,” Bonamici said in the statement.
The Elder Pride Act complements the Older American Act by establishing a rural grant program designed to fund care and services for LGBTQI+ seniors.
- Provide services such as cultural competency training for service providers
- Develop modes of connection between LGBTQI+ older adults and local service providers and community organizations
- Expand the use of nondiscrimination policies and community spaces for older adults who are members of the LGBTQI+ community or another protected class
- Disseminate resources on sexual health and aging for senior service providers
The Elder Pride Act is endorsed by SAGE, the Equality Caucus, Human Rights Campaign, NMAC, Justice in Aging, National Center for Lesbian Rights, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus, National Coalition of STD Directors, interACT, and National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs.
