SAGE Blog

National Healthcare Decisions Day

Today marks the 6th annual National HealthCare Decisions Day.  The purpose of this day is to inspire, educate & empower the public & providers about the importance of advance care planning.

To educate the LGBT community about advance care planning, SAGE’s National Resource Center on LGBT Aging worked with Tom Sciacca, a Trusts and Estates attorney, and SAGE Legal Clinic volunteer, to create informational videos about the importance of wills, advance directives and the legal impact of marriage.  Watch the videos below and stay tuned for SAGE events later in the month around advance directives.

 

American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference

The following is a guest post by Serena Worthington, Director of Community Advocacy and Capacity-Building at SAGE.

I am looking forward to presenting at the American Planning Association’s (APA) National Planning Conference in Chicago tomorrow. Because what I know about urban planning I learned from Bette Midler on Charlie Rose (I was surprised as anyone to learn that Ms. Midler has a deep passion for urban planning), I had to ask, “What is planning?”

According to the APA website, “Planning, also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a dynamic profession that works to improve the welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.”

Two for Equality: Linda & Clayton's Story

The fight for marriage equality is fought not only by LGBT people, but also by the straight allies who love them. Today’s blog post is about Linda and Clayton, a couple who believe that their son Nicholas should have the right to marry Andrew, his partner of 12 years—turning Andrew from their “son without law” to a son-in-law.  This story is also part of our SAGE Story series. Do you have a story you would like to share? Tell us today!

Linda and Clayton hail from Missouri—the heartland of America—and are both strong and supportive parents. Missouri may be the land of “traditional family values” but theirs is an open and accepting household. When their son Nicholas, at age 16, asked to have a family meeting, Linda said, “it wasn’t at all unusual. She just assumed Nicholas wanted to make an ordinary teenage announcement like, “I’ve chosen the college I want to go to.”

So Linda wasn’t quite prepared when Nicholas came out to his parents as gay.

Beyond the Balsamic BBQ Chicken, The SAGE Center Dinners Offer Camaraderie

This is a guest post by Devin Madden, MPH, Project Manager at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Department of Health Evidence and Policy

Older adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) have long had needs that were made invisible or ignored.

In 2012, the Department for the Aging (DFTA) and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) joined forces to change that. Two summers ago, Mayor Bloomberg’s call for an “age-friendly” New York City for its 1.3 million seniors made headlines. In response, DFTA funded eight Innovative Senior Centers (ISC) throughout the five boroughs.

SAGE’s ISC in Chelsea (also known as The SAGE Center) is serving LGBT seniors facing a unique set of health disparities. Among many culturally sensitive programs and activities for LGBT seniors over the age of 60, the center offers nutritionally balanced hot meals every Monday through Friday, from 5-6:30pm (for a softly suggested donation of $2). So far 1,100 participants have registered. Charles Cole, a diner and a SAGE Center receptionist, notes that, “For a lot of the people here, this will be their one healthy meal of the day.”

How an Old Lesbian Learned New Tricks

This is a guest post by Pam Chamberlain, former educator and producer of an independent documentary film  based on a Boston LGBTQ youth theater troupe.

When I retired last spring from a career in education and research, I wondered what effect the transition would have on my identity. I was joining the first big wave of LGBT baby boomer retirees. What did that mean? Would I feel liberated, at loose ends or useless? Little did I know that my ideas about identity would be challenged in such fundamental, and intellectually curious, ways by a new generation of queer activists.

Life After Kathy: A Widow's Story

During the month of April, SAGE will be featuring stories relating to the importance of marriage equality for LGBT older adults every Friday. These stories are also part of our SAGE Story series. Do you have a story you would like to share? Tell us today!

Lynne and Kathy Vantran celebrated the 18th of every month with, at the very least, a special dinner out together. They held the number sacred because on December 18, 1980, they met while serving in the military. Both were teenagers getting over relationships with ex-boyfriends, and as Lynne described it, “we were literally crying in our beer." 

As they helped each other through their failed relationships, Lynne and Kathy could not help but notice the relationship that was forming between them. Little by little, they grew close together as they shared a deep secret. By June 18, 1981, Lynne and Kathy received special permission to move out of the army barracks, a reward for their excellent conduct as soldiers, and the couple moved in together to an apartment off-base.

Pitching Your Best Self: Tips and Tricks to Identifying and Presenting Your Strengths!

Shiv Paul

Shiv Paul is a trainer for SAGEWorks. The workshop he leads includes exercises to help people identify and sell their strengths, as well as tips and tricks on how to write effective cover letters and resumes. If you are in the New York City area and want to attend his workshop in person, the next one is Wednesday, April 10^th from 6-7:30pm. Scroll to the bottom of the post for detailed information, including how to RSVP.

I recently sat down with Shiv to ask him about tips, advice and best practices he can share with mature workers looking for a job. Shiv was a recruitment professional for many years and currently works for a management consulting firm and is owner of his own life coaching practice, Authentic Life Rules. Over the years, his own experiences and those of his clients have taught him effective techniques for increasing a candidate’s chances of getting a job. This includes successful networking, and writing a well-crafted resume and cover letter. He shares with us below.

Read the Latest Spring SAGEMatters!

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke! The latest edition of SAGEMatters is hot off the presses and has some great articles featuring SAGE Story; Hurricane Sandy relief and the work of our new case managers; profiles of Eleanor Smith (founder of Concrete Change) and some of our newest board members, Kelley L. Buchanan and Victoria L. Raymont; and a recap of our winter events and policy wins!

Download your own version today.

SAGE Women’s Programming in New York City

Felicia Sobel, LCSW

Every Friday in March, which is Women’s History Month, the SAGE Blog is featuring posts by and about LGBT older women. Links to previous entries are at the end of this post. Today’s entry in our Women's History Month series is by Felicia Sobel, LCSW, Women’s Programming Coordinator. She came to SAGE in June 2011 with the goal of expanding programs for women.

When I had the opportunity to become a SAGE employee, I was hardly new to the community, but in my new role as Women’s Programming Coordinator, I was delighted to invest my energy in a project near and dear to my heart—the development and facilitation of events and programs designed specifically for LGBT older women in and around New York City.

My goal was to create an array of events and programs to reflect the breadth of interests I knew this population represented.  Too often, aging is equated with decline and diminishing strengths. On the contrary, growing older means reaching a life stage where friendships deepen, values intensify, goals (old and new) crystallize, wisdom emerges and interests often flourish.

Inside the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Hearings

This is a post by Aaron Tax, SAGE’s Director of Federal Government Relations. He attended the Prop 8 and DOMA hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and tweeted live from the steps of the Supreme Court. Visits twitter.com/sageusa to follow all the latest news.

I had the good fortune to attend the Supreme Court hearings this week on Prop 8 and DOMA. However, after standing in line in the dark and the cold on two long consecutive mornings, the last thing I wanted to hear from the Supreme Court was anything about standing (albeit standing of a different variety).  Given the long and circuitous procedural paths each of the cases took to get to the Supreme Court, that was, however, one of the common themes over two days of arguments on same-sex marriage.  The first day focused on whether individuals have a Constitutional right to get married  to someone of the same sex. The second focused on whether the federal government must recognize those marriages.  I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with Edie, the named plaintiff in the second case, Windsor v. United States.

 

Aaron Tax and Edie Windsor