Looking for a quick video that makes the case for Social Security survivor benefits for same-sex couples? Alice might be who you’re looking for.
Alice Herman, age 76, was interviewed by ABC News on the day President Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage. In the video, which includes many pictures of her 45 years with her late spouse, she talks about the pain of being denied Social Secuirty death benefits for her. The video is available at http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/A-Widow-Celebrates-President-Obamas-Change-of-Heart-151051855.html
They forgot to mention that Black Gay and Transgender Americans grow old, but otherwise the new Center for American Progress report, “Jumping Beyond the Broom: Why Black Gay and Transgender Americans Need More Than Marriage Equality” is a must-have for those who want a more complete picture of our LGBT community.
Beyond the Broom “aim(s) to establish a common understanding and knowledge bank of the data and policy research on black gay and transgender people since no consolidated inventory of literature or data on the population’s issues currently exists.” Relying primarily on four large studies – each annotated at length – the report notes that “much of the academic research and data gathered on black gay and transgender populations is framed in disparities, victimization, and hardship.” There are lengthy passages on what’s happening to Black gay and transgender youth, and some data on health disparities and family structures.
The 48-page report is available for download at no cost at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/01/black_lgbt.html
In one of the most interesting such human-interest stories I’ve seen, OutFront Colorado this month published a front-cover article profiling four Colorado elders: Pat Barrington, 77; Dennis Dougherty, 69; Bobby Gates, 71; and Corky Blankenship, 67. Continue reading →
Unless you are very well-connected to the transgender community, you may not be aware that we’re in the midst of a tsunami of policy and practice changes designed to stop new discriminatory treatment of transgender and gender non-conforming people and to begin to address the health disparities caused by past anti-trans discrimination and violence. Continue reading →
Argentina isn’t usually thought of as the continent’s most progressive country, but it took a huge step forward in transgender rights this month when it mandated public and private health care plans to provide, at no additional cost, hormones and surgery to transgender people upon demand.
The new law, which was approved by the Senate by a vote of 55-0 (with 11 abstentions or “absences”), also allows adults to officially change their gender on various documents without first obtaining medical treatment or “permission,” a vast improvement over U.S. policies. Even children are allowed to change their genders without parental approval. The Washington Post pointed out that the new rules means that “these changes can be more benign and even reversible, if some day the person’s self-image changes.”
Argentina was also the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage two years ago.
Need data to back up your advocacy for employment non-discrimination legislation for LGBT workers? Six hundred and eighty pages of it has been compiled into a new docuemnt available at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/05/pdf/lgbt_eo_research.pdf
The compilation, put together by the Williams Institute, the Human Rights Campaign, and Center for American Progress, groups the documents into six categories: employment discrimination and the LGBT workforce; the business case for LGBT workplace protections; public opinion and political support for equal opportunity; impact and legal issues regarding an LGBT nondiscrimination executive order; and miscellaneous. The first category contains only one document, a policy memo (inexplicably still labeled “Confidential — not for circulation”) making the case for why President Obama should issue an Executive Order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.
Although none of the documents’ titles indicate they cover how employment discrimination leads to income dispararities and physical, social, and emotional problems in old age, there is obviously a clear link that can (and should) be made. Please let us at GrayPrideParade know if you know of documents that discuss the linkages.
While we’re in a rapidly changing world for LGBT people, many still live in countries where they may be jailed or even executed for being LGBT, or they may suffer crimes that the authorities turn a blind eye to. Such victims may try to move to the United States, as either asylum seekers or refugees. As we work toward a world where LGBTI persons are safe in their home countries, we must also work to assure the survival of those who have no choice but to escape.” The report is available for free download at http://www.oraminternational.org/images/stories/Publications/oram-rainbow-bridges-2012.pdf
The Organization for Refuge, Asylum, and Migration (ORAM) has published a new manual, “Rainbow Bridges: A Community Guide to Rebuilding the Lives of LGBTI Refugees and Asylees,” which ”seeks to improve the resettlement integration model used for LGBTI refugees and asylees by providing community and faith-based groups with the knowledge they need to help refugees build new lives in the United States.” The manual, which is based on the experiences ORAM has piloted in San Francisco, lays out three different levels of involvement community members can have. As ORAM summarizes, “
We constantly hear (and perhaps say!) that it’s critical for LGBT elders to have social support services, but we don’t often have the data to back up the statement.
Buried in an April 2012 Bay Area Reporter article on the new building designs unveiled by San Francisco’s openhouse was this gem: “In the last year, openhouse provided 5,600 units of direct services to over 500 LGBT seniors. As a direct result of this work, 82 percent of community members reported improvements in health and well-being and 84 percent said they were better able to remain independent.” Openhouse’s services include “yoga, art groups, and health seminars” as well as social services, and they are currrently launching a Friendly Visitor program. The BAR article is available at http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=67652
The Administration on Aging (AoA) has rolled out a new set of tools designed to educate both gay and straight older adults about the risks of HIV/AIDS.
The Toolkit, Know the RISKS, Get the FACTS, is available at http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HPW/HIV_AIDS/toolkit.aspx. Materials include:
While I am delighted to see the much-needed materials and the open inclusion of gay men, the suggestions about how often to get tested address only women and gay men (what’s the recommendation for straight men?) and ignore lesbians altogether. We’ve still got work to do.
If you are an LGBT person giving care to a partner, parent, or someone else, you should know that there is a national LGBT telephone support group available through SAGE (New York).
That’s just one of the LGBT caregiver resources discussed in an American Society on Aging Aging Today Online article, “What’s Different about LGBT Caregiving?” The other resources include:
For more information about the caregiver telephone support group, email caregiving [at] sageusa [dot] org
Looking for a quick video that makes the case for Social Security survivor benefits for same-sex couples? Alice might be who you’re looking for.
