- Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Administration on Aging have awarded Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE) 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.
“Agencies that provide services to older individuals may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the needs of this under-served population,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “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.”
SAGE is the nation’s oldest and largest organization serving LGBT older adults. 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.
“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. “SAGE is extremely gratified to be given this opportunity to create and oversee the Resource Center in close cooperation with the Administration on Aging.”
And how soon do we expect the inevitable conservative congressional backlash from this?
Well, because this is a vital service but the explanation and accompanying quotes that were sent were so long and boring (I heavily edited from Cathy Renna’s press release), I don’t expect this to get much publicity, so hopefully the backlash will be limited.