By Dr. Marcy Adelman
Guest Contributor
On May 24, 2012 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation establishing the city’s first LGBT Aging Policy Task Force. Subsequently, fifteen diverse members of the community, LGBT seniors, advocates and providers were signed in to explore the issues, challenges and barriers to LGBT seniors living healthy, vital lives in the City and County of San Francisco.
The task force will review existing reports and, over the next year, hold public hearings and invite public testimony on the needs of LGBT seniors.
In preparation for the task force, community leaders worked with the San Francisco Human Service Agency (SFHSA) and Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) to present a report of existing available city data on the needs of LGBT seniors.
The report provides a useful description of San Francisco’s LGBT seniors, but also reveals significant gaps in information, especially information on the challenges and needs of transgender seniors, LGBT seniors of color and non-English speaking LGBT seniors.
In an effort to provide the task force with more comprehensive information for their deliberations, Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen will report on the San Francisco LGBT senior data obtained in her ground-breaking national study, the Care and Aging Project (CAP). Dr. Fredriksen-Goldsen will also assist the task force in the design of a new San Francisco community survey that will be available in English, Chinese and Spanish and available for distribution in February, 2013.
The task force is making every effort to ensure that all LGBT seniors participate in the community survey as well as the process and goals of the task force as a whole. As Larry Saxon, task force outreach coordinator, said, “Our goal is genuine inclusiveness with an appreciation of the differences that diversity brings.”
Please join us on January 8th, 2013, 25 Van Ness Avenue, 8th floor, tentatively set for 4pm. Dr. Fredriksen-Goldsen will discuss the task force’s community survey project and present San Francisco information from the Care and Aging Project. Check out the task force website for time and place information: HYPERLINK “http://sf-hrc.org/index.aspx?page=201” \o “http://sf-hrc.org/index.aspx?page=201” http://sf-hrc.org/index.aspx?page=201.
Dr. Marcy Adelman is the founder of Openhouse and is a current Board Member.
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