Showing posts with label age and aging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label age and aging. Show all posts

Monday, February 17, 2014

Planning with Purpose: Legal Basics for LGBT Elders

From Reynaldo Mireles, SAGE of the Rockies Program Manager:

LGBT elders often do not access adequate health care, affordable housing or other social services that they need due to institutionalized heterosexism. Existing regulations and proposed policy changes in programs like Social Security or Medicare, which impact millions of LGBT elders, are discussed without a LGBT perspective engaging the debate. Even the most basic rights such as hospital visitation or the right to die in the same nursing home are regularly denied same-sex partners.

The National Resource Center of LGBT aging has written a guide that includes information about issues related to relationship recognition, finances, health care, long term care, Medicare and Medicaid, planning for the care of minor or disabled children, inheritance, elder abuse, and discrimination against LGBT elders. Read more at lgbtagingcenter.org.

Monday, January 27, 2014

StevieB: Pre-Birthday

By StevieB
 
Tuesday is my fortieth Birthday. Again. In fact, I will be turning forty for the third time. It is all in my plan to only age by fives from now on. I will be forty until I turn forty-five, then it will be forty-five for five years until I celebrate fifty. This really isn’t a vanity issue, because I am already finding this...



After flirting will an amazingly hot guy I re-read his Scruff profile. That’s when I saw the “Age limit is 35” sign posted to the front door. Remember that Snoopy cartoon where Snoopy is attempting to travel across country and faces anti-dog segregation in public spaces? I thought that was just an allegory for racism. Now I know how people facing this type of overt segregationist views felt. Okay, not really. But, the blood did stop pumping from my over thirty-five year old heart for a bit.

It is really that in this day and age I cannot be bothered going to every social media site and changing my age. It took me like ten minutes to remember my BigMuscleBear.com password, just to change my ten year old photo to a five year old photo. At least now I’m not sporting
Z. Cavaricci jeans. So, if you ask me my age, just add up to four years. And know that I am aging gracefully. 


This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

HIV and Aging Survey

Shannon Southall, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Cares is looking for people who are over 40 and living with HIV who would be interested in taking a 10 minute survey on HIV and Aging.

Southall will be presenting at the United States Conference on AIDS in September along with Dr Ben Young. At 48 years old, Southall has  been living with HIV for almost 22 years. Says Southall, "By 2016 they estimate that over 50% of those of us living with HIV will be over 50. I want to be able to share real stories and information to educate both medical providers and case managers, social workers etc about the real issues that we deal with as we grow older with HIV."


Monday, April 29, 2013

Time Is Having Its Way With Me

By Todd Craig
As of April 29, 2013, I am 42 years old. 
For as long as I’ve lived, being gay has been a young man’s game made up mostly of drinking, dancing, and sleeping around.  At yes, at 42, I’ve discovered that age has its trappings.
My hair is thinning, and what hair I have left is graying.  I work out like crazy - not to get swoll, bruh - but to keep from being swollen from that one carb that I ate last week.  To wit: a few weeks ago, after a ridiculously tough workout, I slumped over in the steam room afterwards, exhausted and frustrated at my lack of progress.  There protruding from the middle of my unchiseled pecs was a bright white chest hair.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
There are other indicators that time is beginning to have its way with me, and they’re not all physical.  I can’t think of a single movie in the theater that I want to go see right now.  To tell you the truth, I don’t even know any of the titles, what any of them are about, nor even know who’s in them.  I really only want to see movies with Meryl Streep, and I’ll wait until they come out on DVD so I don’t have to wait in line for an overpriced ticket, thank you very much.
Harumph.
I can’t even pretend to be young either.  I look better in a button-down and slacks than I do in a designer t-shirt and jeans.   I drink vodka, not beer. Taco Bell doesn’t sound good anymore, and besides I’d need three days to work it off again at the gym.  Saving for retirement is more important than driving a new car.  I buy shoes on clearance.  At Kohl’s.
At some point in the last ten years, I turned… middle aged.
And as hellish as it sounds, I don’t think I’d trade it for anything.
First of all, I’m married. I have been with the same man for almost a decade now, and we make a pretty impressive team. The whole dating scene is long since gone, and I don’t miss it in the slightest.  Being young and single has its perks, but not one of them is equal to waking up with my husband draped around my body, snuggled up all warm and cozy as he does every morning.   When we change the sheets, we’ve worn ruts in the mattress where we sleep.  After eight years we laugh at the same jokes, and we know how one another thinks.  We exchange glances so nuanced that we have entire conversations without using words.  Long gone are the days of wondering what he’s thinking about.
Good riddance.
We also have a family in a little six year old boy who is full of energy, love, hugs, and farts – not necessarily in that order.  He bounds out of bed at 7 on Saturday mornings excited for breakfast and cartoons and the new day and his Star Wars Legos.  Sure, when I was single, I could sleep in until noon, but now I stumble out of bed, pull on some jammy pants, and start making pancakes.  It’s what we dads do.
Who needs sleep when you have blueberry pancakes?
And now, instead of weekends of drinking and dancing, I mow the lawn.  Sometimes, I sneak out of bed early to watch CBS Sunday Morning and read the paper in the quiet of the morning.  That’s about as exciting or sexy as my life gets anymore.
What my life is though is fulfilling.  Together with my husband, we’ve built a nice home, a beautiful family, and with apologies to Jimmy Stewart, a wonderful life.
The generations before me weren’t so lucky.  AIDS killed too many before they even reached 42; being gay was a young man’s game because very few lived to see middle age. Before that, an unhealthy mix of discrimination, fear, hatred, and societal expectations forced others into trying to live straight lives based in deceit and dishonesty.
So here I am, a gay man age 42:  husband, father, career man.  I live a rich, beautiful, life rooted in openness and love in a way that weren’t really possible for those generations before me.  For that, I’m grateful.
Certain aspects of gay life are best left to the young, I suppose.  The dancefloor is a place for twenty-something hardbodies.  I’ll let their plates be full with looking good, expensive fashions, and trying to get laid.  
My plate is full enough already with these blueberry pancakes for my son. 
And shhhh…  don’t tell anyone, but I kinda prefer it that way.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Turning 40? F**k That!

By Todd Craig

A little over a year ago, I turned 40. 40 is a nasty age on paper because as I’ve discovered, every cliché about 40 happens to be mercilessly true. 40 is the age of your parents. 40 means turning the radio down instead of up, watching CBS instead of MTV, going to bed because you’re tired, and taking pride in working the crossword puzzle. 40 means losing hair in places where you want it - like on top of your head for example - and growing it places where it shouldn’t grow. Last night I plucked hairs out of the edges of my ears for Christ’s sake.

Fuck that shit.

Ten years ago, my body was nice and lean. I had a full head of hair and knew the singers of the music that everyone danced to. I made killer cd mixes, went out until mornings on the weekends, ate and drank with abandon, and never had to work out.

But then my thirties happened. I met a cute boy who was 20 and married him. We bought a house, owned a little wiener dog, adopted a baby boy, and began life together.

In fact, many of the dreams I had as a single gay man in my teens and twenties came true in my thirties. By the end of my 39th year, I was a successful gay man with a gorgeous young husband, a beautiful son, a nice suburban home, and a successful career as a middle school English teacher.

So when 40 arrived, I had a lot going for me.

Yet I dreaded 40. My impending birthday seemed like a day of reckoning that I wasn’t sure I was ready for. I kept thinking about things that I needed to do, things that I wanted to do, and trying to make sure that my last 40 years on this planet accomplished more than my first 40 years.

Why was I dreading my 40s, and what was I gonna do about it?

For me, 40 was a midlife crisis that couldn’t be solved with a new sports car, which was probably good because I didn’t have the money for one anyway.

Let the personal reflection begin.

I started off my forties with a gym membership. That tall, lean body I mentioned that I had at the start of my thirties? Yeah, somewhere between then and the end of my 39th year had seen me pack on more than fifty pounds. Part of that weight gain was due to parenthood’s endless stream of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets; part of it was due to laziness and exhaustion that changing diapers at two in the morning necessitates. Part of that weight gain was also due to the natural slowing of my metabolism, too. But the reasons why I’d put on weight didn’t really matter as much as the so-what-the-hell-are-you-going-to-do-about-it part. All I knew was that my 32-inch waistline that I had when I was 32 had seemed to increase incrementally as my age increased. Was a 40-inch waistline at age 40 something that I wanted to have? It never occurred to me that being overweight would be a part of my being. What had occurred to me was that I wouldn't be taking my shirt off at the club anytime soon.

Again, fuck that shit.

So I made myself a promise that I would make the gym a part of my daily routine like brushing my teeth or wearing pants. I dug into the internet and found some workouts that I was pretty sure I could do. I visited my doctor and received a physical. My hubby and I pre-paid for a full year’s gym membership, and I hit the treadmill and weights with equal amounts of trepidation, embarrassment, and fervor.

I started out easy, lifting the My Little Pony weights, working my way up through Strawberry Shortcake barbells, and on past Rainbow Brite ones. I would sweat through one t-shirt doing cardio, run down and change in the locker room and sweat through another lifting weights. I became careful about the foods I ate. I quit snacking after 8 p.m. I started taking vitamins and drinking protein drinks.

After three months of work, a lot of the weight had disappeared. After a year, even I felt good about the amount of muscle that was beginning to form.

At the risk of sounding like George W. Bush, I could announce that part one of my midlife makeover, incorporating fitness into my life, was a mission accomplished.

Part two was going to be trickier. You see, I love my teaching career, and after almost two decades in the profession, I’m pretty good at what I do. My successes outnumber my failures, I’m still finding ways to keep my teaching fresh and different every year, and most importantly, I’m still finding ways to have fun teaching.

But like every English teacher ever, I was also a frustrated wannabe writer. I had gone back and forth when I enrolled in college whether or not I wanted to be a journalism major and be a writer or get an English major and be a teacher before I eventually chose to teach.

It never occurred to me that I could be both.

Sure, I’d kept journals along the way. I wrote a few poems, submitted an article or two here and there for publishing. But really, my career as a writer never existed.

So at age 40, I began to write again. Maybe it was grading all of those student essays and giving all that advice over the years, but maybe, finally, the teacher was listening to his own lessons. Whatever the reason, writing came back to me with an ease that took me by surprise. The words flowed naturally. I submitted articles, essays, and even some poetry for publishing, and I had enough success that I earned enough to buy me a nice writer’s desk and some bookcases and even claimed the title of “freelance writer” on my tax forms.

I love that I’m writing again. It’s given me a new voice and a new challenge that I had been missing out on for most of my young adult life.

Missing out on things that I want to do?

Yep, fuck that shit, too.

And it occurs to me now, at age 41, that turning 40 meant quite a few things to me. Sure, it has brought its fair share of baggage. (Author’s note: I’d REALLY like my old hairline back again.) But with that baggage also came a good bit of self-reflection and the opportunity for me to consider who I am and where I want to be going in this world.

Turning 40 also gave me the swift kick in the ass I needed to start living life on my terms.
Maybe I don’t know much about the Kardashians, and maybe I do find The Mentalist more appealing than Jersey Shore.

I’m 41 now, and it turns out that other stuff isn’t made for me.

The stuff that I’m really interested in like my family, my health, and my passions are things I have to invest myself in. And I’ve discovered that the more I invest, the more I get in return.

So if you don’t mind, I’m going to turn the music down, hit my two-drink minimum, and turn in early for the night.

Turns out I’ve got lots to do tomorrow – just as soon as I finish this crossword puzzle.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

It would be wise to attend the SAGE conference this weekend

The first regional SAGE of the Rockies conference on LGBT aging takes place this weekend and is designed to give people the tools they need to plan and be prepared so as they grow older, their lives are healthy and safe and they are surrounded by people who care.

The conference will feature nearly 30 breakout sessions on topics ranging from financial and estate planning to housing options to staying connected through social media. By the end of the conference, participants will have an "action blueprint" to help them move toward the kind of LGBT community that will help them thrive and grow older with confidence.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults report

Earlier this year, Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Elders, or SAGE, and the Movement Advancement Project, or MAP, released "Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults" in partnership with the Center for American Progress, the American Society on Aging, and the National Senior Citizens Law Center. The report provides an overview of LGBT elders' unique needs and the policy and regulatory changes that are needed to adequately address them.

To follow up on that work, SAGE, MAP, and CAP have developed 12 briefs that provide more information on the issues raised in the report.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Improving the lives of gay elders


"Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults" was released in March 2010 by MAP and Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE) in partnership with the American Society on Aging, the Center for American Progress, and the National Senior Citizens Law Center. An abbreviated version of the report was released earlier today.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Improving the lives of gay elders

A new report available from MAP and SAGE, Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults, shows that contrary to stereotypes, LGBT elders are more likely to live in poverty, face social and community isolation, and lack appropriate health care and long-term care.

The report examines the unique barriers and disparities faced by LGBT elders. It also offers detailed and practical solutions, providing a roadmap for LGBT and aging advocates, policymakers, and anyone interested in ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to age with dignity and respect.

Friday, March 19, 2010

It's never to late to come out

A recent article from the Associated Press profiles  GLBT seniors and proves it's never too late to come out of the closet.

For more information and local resources for gays over the age of 50 visit Sage of the Rockies.

Monday, February 15, 2010

SAGE receives grant to create nation's first and only national resource center for LGBT elders

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Administration on Aging last week awarded national SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders) a three-year, $900,000 grant to create the nation's only national resource center on LGBT aging.

The National Technical Assistance Resource Center for LGBT Elders will assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older LGBT people. The Resource Center will provide training to aging service providers and LGBT agencies nationwide, and will offer critically important educational tools to LGBT older people. - via The Center

"The creation of a National Technical Assistance Resource Center for LGBT Elders is a monumental step forward for the LGBT community," said Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE.

Monday, January 18, 2010

SAGE of the Rockies 2010


The Center's Elders program is now SAGE of the Rockies and planning for the regional conference on GLBT aging is in full swing.

Keep up with the happenings and feel free to send your thoughts and ideas to SAGE of the Rockies Coordinator Ken Helander at khelander@glbtcolorado.org.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Things to do in Denver when you're gay: Yoga for seniors

On Friday, January 15, from 9:30-11 a.m., The Center will present a special yoga class for older people with instructor Angie Capell. Wear loose and comfortable clothing, and bring a blanket or mat to sit on - The Center will have a few extras on hand if you need one.

For more information on The Center's programs for GLBT seniors visit www.glbtcolorado.org.

Photo from Ravages' Flickr photostream.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Upcoming Elder Events from The Center


Ken Helander, Elder Programs Coordinator for The Center has the following update on upcoming Elder Events from The Center:

Next Friday, Dec. 4, audiologist Dr. Jodene Spencer will be at The Center from 1:30-3 p.m. to talk about hearing loss and what can be done about it. Hearing loss can be one of the most frustrating and isolating conditions people face as they get older. But it's not inevitable, can often be prevented and can almost always be improved. Jodene will talk about the types of hearing loss, and the many new technologies that can make all the difference.

And Friday, Dec. 18, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The Center will host a discussion on arthritis and osteoporosis with Tom Simpleman, a board certified geriatric pharmacist.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Outing Age 2010 presents issues facing gay elders

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) today jointly released Outing Age 2010: Public Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Elders, an update to the groundbreaking Outing Age report issued in 2000.

Like its predecessor, Outing Age 2010 presents an in-depth look at public policy issues and challenges facing millions of aging LGBT people in the United States. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado runs the SAGE affiliate in Denver and will be using this report in its work with older LGBT adults in Colorado.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

LGBT elder survey


The Center reports that the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC). NSCLC has been working with SAGE, The Task Force, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) to raise awareness of the issues facing older adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and live in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and other long-term care facilities. The five groups are collaborating on a survey to document and better understand the real experiences of LGBT elders in nursing homes and assisted- living facilities.

Please consider completing the online survey by clicking below if you a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender older adult how lives or has lived in a long-term facility, a caregiver of same, or a social worker or other helping professional who works with older adults.

This will address the legal needs of people in long-term care settings and will help advocates to improve national long-term care policy to make it more LGBT-friendly.

Click here to take the online survey.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Golden gays

The Center has a number of elder programs available for members of the gay community who are 50 and older and this time next year has plans to host its first regional conference on LGBT Aging.

The Center's Elder Program Coordinator Ken Helander is asking for volunteers to help with the conference on a variety of planning committees -- program, venue, publicity, entertainment, fundraising, etc. If you would like to get involved and be part of preparing this great event, join them for light refreshments and a kick-off organizational meeting at The Center on Monday, Nov. 9, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Monday, July 20, 2009

He's hot, he's gay - and he's aging

How old is old? PlanetOut takes on the topic of "gayging" gracefully.

And in a related topic they ask, "Where would Brian from 'Queer As Folk' be today at the ripe old age of 40?"

Friday, July 17, 2009

How long will you live?

Created by the curly-headed and cute Dr. Thomas Perls (author of a book by the same name), LivingTo100.com utilizes the latest scientific and medical information to determine how long you’ll live based upon 40 questions.

The online examination covers everything from gym time to cholesterol levels, and once completed, gives a rather comprehensive-for-its-price (free) tailored report with advice on how to extend whatever magic number one ends up with.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Denver celebrates Older American's Month with nine events for '09


Older Americans in the Denver area will be able to enjoy special activities during the month of May. The Denver Office on Aging and Denver Office of Cultural Affairs have partnered with community organizations to celebrate Older American’s Month with 9 fun events targeted to older individuals during May.

The special events include a series of free Friday public art tours, the free 5 Points Jazz Festival, free admission to the Denver Botanic Gardens and Denver Museum of Nature & Science, an Emergency Preparedness Training and the Mayor’s Spring Into Health event. For additional details, visit www.denvergov.org.