Hey!! I am looking for some advice and I'm hoping that this is the best place to get it from... I am a 3rd year occupational therapy student and nervously approaching the end of my degree. Once graduated I hope to work with older adults in some form, but I have a particular interest in mental health. As part of my assessments at University I need to develop a service proposal to meet the needs of a population of my choice. Being gay myself, I have decided to look into something that is close to my heart. After doing some research I have discovered that there are very little (I haven't found any in fact) support/advice/community based groups that are specifically designed for LGBT people who are aged 65 and over, in the UK. I know many people may have the opinion that by creating such a group it would somehow segregate members from the wider population, i.e. heterosexual people. However, after reading a report by Stonewall (the link is below) it seems that LGBT people who are aged over 65 would benefit a great deal from some form of community group that is specifically designed to meet their needs. Ok, maybe I am very eager to get involved in working with older adults. In addition, I may be being presumptuous that LGBT people aged over 65 would want to be part of such a group. Therefore, I would really appreciate if any members (of any age) could give me some feedback on this idea? Would it be of interest to you? What would you want to gain from it? What would you want to do whilst you are there? (e.g. talks, days out, socialise, advice) Any suggestions or advice would be most welcome. Thank you for taking time to read this - who knows? If its a popular idea maybe I could put it into practice when I qualify?!! Kind regards Mark Link for the Stonewall report -http://www.stonewall.org.uk/documents/lgb_in_later_life_final.pdf
LGBTAgingCenter.org - Over The Rainbow Supper Club (North Shore) http://www.therainbowtimesmass.com/2014/11/06/food-unites-elderly-lgbt-community-mass-supper-clubs/ https://m.facebook.com/overtherainbowcoalition?_rdr
SE Wisconsin is a long way from England and Massachusetts but if there was a similar organization like MarkLiverpool described close to home I'd definitely check it out. There are numerous ones for the younger crowd but active gay seniors could use a social networking organization too. I haven't found any.
MarkLiverpool...I too am a long way away in the Northwestern US. I also don't exactly know what occupational therapy is. But I do know that contact with anther gay person would be a blessing to me. I am 64, I'm not talking about sex, I'm talking about about talking, sharing, just time together with someone who understands me and I them. If any part of what your talking about doing would involve that I'm sure that it would be a wonderful help to the person you would be working with. David
Hi Mark, I think the idea is sound. I'm not in the demographic you're concerned about, but it's something that is interesting and worthwhile, in my opinion. I don't know if you've seen any of these sites? They may be relevant: Our older LGBT community | Relationships & family | Health & wellbeing | Age UK Opening Doors London Age of Diversity | For older LGBT people throughout the UK
Hi MarkLiverpool There is a support group for gay over 55 here in Dublin. Just a short boat trip away from you if your name is anything to go by. This is the link: Peer Support & PDC (I'm not part of this group but I attend another group for married gay men and a lot of us would be the age group you are studying, besides if I was in too many support groups I might do something rash. :roflmao I would imagine that this group would have interesting things to say as people of my age have seen a paradigm shift in attitudes to gays in Ireland. Best of luck in your work!
Hi Mark Although I’m not in your target age group, I’m only a young 55, I found the Icebreakers group at the Lesbian & Gay Foundation in Manchester LGF to be very welcoming to all ages and is run mostly by guys older than me. I understand that some of the members of that group have been older than 65. If you check out the LGF website you will find a group called “Bloomers” for older lesbians and “Older and Bolder” for older men. The phone number of LGF is 0845 3 30 30 30. You would be most welcome at the Icebreakers group that meets every Wednesday evening 8:00 to 9:30 and I’m sure the organisers would be able to advise if they know of any other groups that may be of interest to you. We do have guys come over from Liverpool to our meetings from time to time and the group meets 5min walk from Piccadilly railway station which has a direct link to Liverpool Lime Street. I’ll do some asking round this evening and see if they have any ideas. SGG
Tulman, there's an organization called SAGE that's run through the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center that you might want to check out. I believe it's a local chapter of a national organization called SAGE USA ( www.sageuse.org ) that may or may not have chapters elsewhere in the USA. I'm not familiar with it but it might be worth checking out.
Thank you so much for your responses!! Ill definitely check out those sites for more information - much appreciated ---------- Post added 28th Jan 2015 at 05:17 PM ---------- How would the group feel about a 'buddy' service? I want to work in the field of mental health and research suggests that many older adults in the LGBT community experience a higher rate of mental health issues compare to heterosexual counterparts, as a result of many factors (see the Stonewall report) Using a buddy service an older member (65+) of the LGBT community who felt lonely or isolated or had recently retired and was looking for a new role etc could volunteer to a service where they are 'buddied-up' with a younger member of the LGBT community who is also experiencing troubles in their life. They could share experiences and advice regarding issues that are currently affecting them, such as 'coming-out' etc. I feel this could provide the older member with a new purpose or role in their life which in turn could boost self-esteem and impact on their mental health in a possitive way. The younger member of the LGBT could also gain from the experience and life skills that the older member has to offer. This could be in someways be like a grandparent/grandchild relationship. Any thoughts on this?
Hi Mark, I do know someone who I think is over 65 and has made use of the buddy service that the LGF offers and found it to be helpful. As far as I'm aware he has not joined this site yet although I have told him of it. I will have a word with him, when I next see him, to see if he wants to take part in this discussion. FYI: Since you are a new member you won't be able to communicate directly with him or myself until you have made 50+ posts and applied for full membership (free) and the site rules forbid passing email or phone contact details on the open discussion boards. Please don't try this, however tempting, or you will find yourself banned. SGG
Interestingly, I went to an LGBT community center in a nearby city, and they had groups for gay men 25 and under, and another for 60 and over. I am in my 40s and find it sad that there is nothing for me. There were also multiple coming out groups for lesbians and trans, but none for men. :-(
Hi Mark I asked the organisers of the Icebreakers group I attend on Wednesday evening if they were aware of any support groups aimed specifically at the over 65s and they were not. It was suggested to me that the demographic would be too small to make such a group worthwhile and that older guys tended to go to the 40+ events. I do have a recollection that one of the retired members of the group told me about a gay walking/ outdoor activities group that meets in Cheshire that had a wide age range of membership but with more older members than younger. It’s possible that such a group could give you input to your project. I’m also aware of a group called “out with prostate cancer” that meets at the LGF. Since prostate problems mainly, but not always, impact the older men you might find some ideas by talking to this subset of the demographic you are interested in. I've included some links below that may be of interest to you. Befriending: no need to be alone Bloomers | Groups at the LGF | Get support | Home Older and Bolder CONTACT & MEETINGS - outwithprostatecancer http://www.lgf.org.uk/policy-research/i-exist-survey-research-into-LGB-needs-and-experiences/ SGG
Hi, I have seen the statistics for older LGBT and it is no surprise there are higher mental health issues. I would imagine that isolation and loneliness contribute to problems. Being 55 I attended a Meetup group of what was advertised as a mixed age group. I was the youngest there by a decade except for a paid escort one older fellow flew in from Ireland (mid 40's). I was center stage until the 40 year old showed up. It was interesting to watch the "moths to the flame" effect. After a while the 40 year old shot me a "help!" look across the room but there was nothing I could do. These men were lonely and not interested in each other. It was a good lesson in avoiding hookups and looking for a meaningful LTR. I am happy I have two sons and an stbx I get love and support from. The buddy system sounds good but seeing what I have I worry for the younger guys in the match.