Coalition for Aging LGBT’s Robert Emery with representatives from Resource Center
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Mental health is this year’s focus of the eighth annual Coalition for Aging LGBT Summit on Aging. Making connections and building a support network are the strategies that will be laid out, according to CfA LGBT board chair Robert Emery. And building a support system is something everyone in the LGBTQ community must do.
Because same-sex couples couldn’t get married until 10 years ago, and adopting children has traditionally been difficult for members of the LGBTQ community, many older LGBTQ adults don’t have adult children to care for us as they age, Emery noted.
“So we rely on people our own age to establish a network of friends we can depend on,” he added. “It’s very important to all of us.”
And the challenges aging LGBTQ adults face are different from what most people in the straight community face.
Elijah Whitmire from Under the Rainbow Counseling will discuss navigating the mental health system at the summit.Then the large group will break into smaller sessions.
Attorney Lorie Burch will discuss the legal documents every senior needs and the additional documents some need. She’ll discuss why boiler plate documents off the internet create wills and powers of attorney that usually aren’t valid in Texas.
Patrick Duffy from Family Health Plans of Texas will lead a workshop on “Exploring Medicare Insurance,” explaining the intricacies of Medicare and offering insights into how Medicare may be suddenly changing or more difficult to access with fewer people working in the agency.
The third workshop Emery described as “a super-fun class on self defense for seniors” taught by Kenny Rebstock, a self-defense instructor from Dallas Park and Recreation who works with Guardian Angels who in turn work in cooperation with the Dallas Police Department.
Following that will be a panel discussion featuring individuals from Senior Source, Resource Center and Apple Care. The Resource Center representative will discuss that organization’s senior programming including information on its new senior living center, Oak Lawn Place.
The Senior Source rep will answer questions about that organization’s wide variety of programs, from family caregiver support to financial coaching to nursing home advice.
And the representative from Apple Care and Companion, which offers home care for seniors, will offer information on their services.
“Senior Source is in the gayborhood,” Emery said. “They want to be thought of as an LGBT resource. Throughout the year, they offer programming in partnership with Resource Center.”
About 15 vendors will have tables staffed throughout the event to introduce attendees to a variety of services available to LGBTQ seniors. Those tables include one staffed by Dallas Police Department where attendees will meet the department’s LGBTQ community liaison officers and learn how they’re helping to keep the community safe and offering assistance when needed.
A representative from C.C. Young Senior Living, one of the more LGBTQ-friendly senior facilities in North Texas, will offer information on their residential opportunities.
Emery said, “C.C. Young offers more gay activities and more gay and gay-friendly programming than anyone.” One highlight he mentioned is that “Denise Lee does a cabaret series there.”
The city of Dallas Office of Community Care will have a table, as well, said Emery, adding “They’ve been good to us. They want citizens of Dallas to know they have support systems for LGBT seniors. We should be calling them.”
Among the services are financial assistance, financial training, ride share to appointments through DART and more.
The Annual Summit on LGBT Aging takes place on Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Senior Source, 3910 Harry Hines Blvd. The event is free.
Coalition for Aging is providing coffee and light snacks starting at 9 a.m. Lunch by Chef Lydia will be served at 11:50 a.m. during the community resources panel discussion.
For more information, visit the Coalition for Aging website at CFA.LGBT.