Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE) has been awarded a three-year, $900,000 grant to create the first and only national resource center on LGBT aging.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the grant today, saying "The
Resource Center will provide information, assistance and resources for both
mainstream aging organizations and LGBT organizations and will provide
assistance to LGBT individuals as they plan for future long-term care needs."
"In creating the Resource Center, SAGE will forge a partnership with 10 organizations with expertise in a wide range of areas including mainstream aging, LGBT aging, culture change and competency and program evaluation. These organizations include PHI (a national training expert), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), the National Council on Aging's National Institute of Senior Centers, the American Society on Aging, the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity, Centerlink (the national association of LGBT community centers), GRIOT Circle, FORGE Transgender Aging Network, Third Sector New England/The LGBT Aging Project, and openhouse. The Resource Center will seek to engage, empower and support mainstream aging providers, LGBT providers and LGBT older adults to ensure that LGBT elders have the necessary and culturally appropriate supports and services to successfully age in place. Among other tools, SAGE plans to develop a comprehensive, web-based clearinghouse targeting all three audiences. The clearinghouse will include diverse resources, social networking tools, an “Ask the Experts” service, web-based trainings and other features."