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NEWS | LGBT Seniors Petitioned for Mandatory Training for Aging Services Providers

Boston – On October 11, 2017, at the hearing of Elder Affairs Joint Committee held at Massachusetts State House, House representative Elizabeth A. Malia presented a bill, H2892, that requires the state to provide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) awareness training for aging services providers.

Facing seven members of the joint committee and representing thirty-two petitioners, Malia stepped up to petition for the concerns and calls of LGBT seniors – eliminating discrimination towards their sexual orientation and gender identity and providing access to care-services for LGBT seniors. 

The petitioners required that all service providers who contract with or receive funding from the state should complete the training program. Yet, no specific curriculum for training has been drafted. 

Malia said to the joint committee, "In my generation, LGBT people are frightened to come out or reach out to services because of discrimination." 

Malia is not alone. A recent study shows that there are 3 million LGBT people over 65, and this population will double by 2030. But the population might be underestimated because many LGBT seniors are facing social stigma and do not speak out. 

At the hearing, nobody opposed this bill. Julian Andre Cyr, the Vice Chair of Elder Affairs Joint Committee, expressed his appreciation of Malia’s courage to represent LGBT minority groups and emphasized the importance of the issue she brought up. Also, he said further discussion within the committee is needed. One of the members of Elder Affair Joint Committee Patricia D. Jehlen also concurred with the House bill. 

Although Massachusetts was the first U.S. state that legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, social discrimination still exists.

"I was beaten up in Harvard Squared 20 years ago because I am a lesbian. In Boston, there has always been hostility against LGBT folks," said Deborah Shields, who testified for Malia during the hearing. “The caregivers should be trained. They should know how to ask questions that LGBT folks are comfortable with.”

Deborah Shields is a legal advocate and registered lobbyist, who is involved in LGBTQ civil rights issues and protection for people with AIDS. She works as the Executive Director for MassEquality, a grassroots LGBT advocacy organization. She has received $4,307.52 from MassEquality since January, 2017. And MassEquality contributed $50 to Cyr in 2017.

In addition to being supported by MassEquality, the bill is also endorsed by lobbyist groups promoting senior healthcare policy such as AARP Massachusetts and Hebrew SeniorLife, Inc.

Social stigma leads LGBT seniors to isolation, which is the main risk for them. According to Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE), a national organization supporting LGBT older adults, LGBT seniors are twice as likely to live alone, twice as likely to be single, three to four times less likely to have kids, and many are turned away by their families and relatives.

"Many LGBT folks don't have kids. When medical emergencies happen, they lose contacts," Malia's Chief of Staff Natalie Kaufman said.

A study conducted by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research showed that compared with heterosexual adults, LGBT seniors aged between 50 and 70 have higher risk of perilous chronic physical and mental health issues, and many lesbian and bisexual women delay mental health care. Moreover, a report revealed that LGBT seniors are less likely to be covered by health insurance.

In addition, discrimination towards sexual orientation directly contributes to excessive alcohol consumption and substance use, according to LGBT Health, a peer-reviewed journal.

In the past decade, LGBT-friendly efforts have been made. LGBT Aging Project, part of Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, has provided cultural competency training to major care providers in Massachusetts since 2001.

However, not every care provider has been trained because the training is not mandatory. The bill, if passed, will make the training standard for all care providers.

The bill has been re-filed twice since 2013 and has undergone a third reading. The committee will decide to pass the bill or not in February 2018.

According to Wes Ritchie, a Senate member at the joint committee hearing, the possibility of the bill being passed is high. Hopefully, the bill will become law at the end of 2018.