An important day for PA seniors

Monday, June 25^th was an important day for Pennsylvania’s seniors.  PA Secretary of Aging, Brian Duke, was in Philadelphia to hear community testimony about the PA draft State Plan on Aging 2012 – 2016.  Secretary Duke heard testimony from consumers; advocates; representatives from area agencies on aging; and from a coalition of LGBT,  Aging and HIV service providers and advocacy organizations.  The coalition includes the LGBT Elder Initiative (LGBTEI); ActionAIDS; The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania; Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE); Mazzoni Center; Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC); and William Way LGBT Community Center.

The draft State Plan on Aging does not specifically address the needs of LGBT older Pennysylvanians, nor does it address HIV/AIDS, a public health issue that has been with us for over 30 years.

Representatives of each of the organizations in the coalition proposed steps for the State to take to begin to address the needs of these vulnerable and underserved communities:

• Add openly LGBT and HIV+ citizens to the Pennsylvania Council on Aging, the Cultural Diversity Advisory Council, and regional councils;
• Begin collecting inclusive demographic data at all points along the aging services spectrum about the members of these communities;
• Foster an atmosphere of inclusivity in all aging service settings through cultural competency and sensitivity training; and
• Raise awareness of HIV prevention methods and promote HIV testing among at-risk, older populations.

The testimony of the representatives of the coalition organizations can be read, in their entirety, at: www.lgbtei.org/p/testimony.html

Persons wishing to submit written comments on the plan must do so by Friday, June 29, 2012. Comments should be addressed to David Gingerich, Acting Deputy Secretary of Aging, 555 Walnut Street, 5th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101‐1919. Comments may also be submitted to RA‐StatePlanOnAging@state.pa.us

Copies of the draft plan can be obtained from the Department of Aging’s website at http://www.aging.state.pa.us. 


To read the testimonies of coalition members, please go to: http://www.lgbtei.org/p/testimony.html

State Plan on Aging Testimony

The following testimony was given by representatives of Alder Health Services about the PA State Plan on Aging 2012 – 2016 at State College, PA, on Monday, June 18, 2012.

Good morning, my name is Paul Gilmore, I represent Alder Health Services, serving South Central Pennsylvania. We provide primary and mental healthcare, HIV case management, STD screening and treatment, and health and wellness programs, to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and their families. These populations often find themselves marginalized by the traditional healthcare system. They are often told, directly or indirectly, that they are not welcome, that they are not accepted, or that they are not respected in health, wellness, or human service organizations. This is the reality of the LGBT and HIV+ population regardless of the age of the individuals we serve.  

Alder Health Services is particularly concerned about the needs of this aging population, and request that the aging LGBT and HIV+ community be specifically identified and included in the State's Plan on Aging.

Members of the LGBT Community of all ages experience higher rates of health disparities than the general population in such areas as cancer mortality, mental health, eating disorders, HIV/AIDS, oral health care and access to quality health and wellness services.  Many of these disparities are tied to social stressors related to the stigmatization of being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or HIV+ in the community at large. Aging, as with the general population, adds a layer of complexity to the care and well-being of members of the LGBT and HIV+ community.  

Many traditional organizations and programs dedicated to assisting aging members of the community have few cultural competencies to address the unique needs of LGBT and HIV+ individuals. Thus, the fear of discrimination leads individuals to avoid accessing essential health services. These individuals may resort to seclusion and denial of their needs, adding stress, which further compromises their health.  

It is essential that the State's Plan on Aging specifically include members of the LGBT and HIV+ community as a population with distinct needs. Failing to do so reinforces the status quo of denying or ignoring the existence of these populations and, therefore, perpetuates the misinformation and ignorance that members of these communities experience within existing programs.

We must recognize the need to discuss individuals living with HIV and the challenges of aging.  The reality today is that a significant number of the individuals living with HIV in our community are over the age of 50 or soon will be.  With improved treatment outcomes and increasing life expectancy, we may anticipate a greater number of HIV+ individuals reaching and exceeding the age of 50. In the past decade alone, those over the age of 50 report higher rates of new infection, compared to the general population and other demographic categories. This fact alone presents unique challenges to the health delivery system that is currently in place for the aging population.  

Many services and programs designed for older residents of the Commonwealth fail to address the needs of the HIV+ individual.  Some entities regard the aging person as sexually inactive and therefore, not at risk, this is inaccurate.

We receive calls from local organizations that are presented with a client or patient who is HIV+ or who identifies as LGBT.  Often, that organization is not seeking our support to serve the needs of the individual in their care, but rather to inquire how they may be able to refer the client or patient, as the organization does not want to care for him or her.  This behavior is unacceptable.  

Please guarantee that the needs of HIV+ individuals are recognized, and that appropriate strategies are developed to provide quality care and wellness for aging individuals living with HIV in the Commonwealth. We ask that the State's Plan on Aging identify LGBT and HIV+ individuals as a population in need of specific understanding and access to essential services and support.

Thank you for your time and the careful consideration of the needs of the aging LGBT and HIV+ citizens of Pennsylvania. We at Alder Health Services stand ready, willing, and able to assist you in meeting the needs of all citizens of the Commonwealth.

Paul Gilmore, Clinical Assistant

Phil Goropoulos, President/CEO

Alder Health Services

www.alderhealth.org

100 N. Cameron St. Ste. 301-East

Harrisburg, PA 17101-2412

717 233 7190

EI in PGN: Still here and still proud

by Heshie Zinman

On a recent drive through beautiful mountains on my way to a conference on aging issues in State College, I began to think about the 40 intervening years since I graduated from Penn State. As a college student, I had demonstrated for civil rights, against the war in Vietnam, the draft, the Kent State massacre and an unresponsive government. It was the birth of my political activism.

During those years, I had been unaware of the stirrings of the modern LGBT-rights movement: the work of Harry Hay and the Mattachine Society, Barbara Gittings leading picketers in front of Independence Hall, the Stonewall uprising and so many other milestones. It was not until the early 1980s that I began to understand what it meant to be part of the LGBT community. That was because the AIDS war had begun and my generation had emerged from the anti-war and anti-establishment politics of the ’60s and ’70s into the personal havoc of the life and death struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Without the courage of the pioneers in the LGBT-rights movement and without the experience we gained in the anti-war movement, we might have been annihilated by AIDS. The LGBT community had built a base of experience in organizing, protest, advocacy and providing services. When the AIDS pandemic rose from nowhere, we had the ability to mount a community effort to fight the HIV/AIDS battle and, for many of us, to survive. I am one of those survivors.

In the early days of AIDS, I, like millions of others, did not have a clue about HIV or prevention. However, I chose to learn and to be involved — for some selfish reasons. Before testing was available, again like so many others, I believed that I had already been infected. I knew that I was going to need help and services and support. So, out of a sense of self-preservation, I became a volunteer and an activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Once involved in action, I realized that we, as a community, stood alone. Just as in the 1960s, unresponsive governments offered no support, people were frightened and we had to rely on ourselves. Dozens, and then hundreds, and then thousands of LGBT people and allies volunteered, donated and worked tirelessly to save lives. We banded together to advocate for services, for research, for care and for support. We fought and, sadly, we lost many whom we loved. And many of us, as individuals and as a community, came out alive and stronger on the other side.

We should bear great pride in our growth as a community and, literally, our survival. Pride that we joined together to take care of our own. Pride that we built social, political and care structures that helped many to survive. Now we have a challenge that many of us never expected to face: aging. Now, once again, personal self-interest and community self-interest play a part. We are all aging and we must support each other so that we can all age safely, healthfully and successfully.

Read more:PGN-The Philadelphia Gay News. Phila gay news. philly news - Still here and still proud

PA State Plan on Aging: Review and Comment

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) has made the draft 2012‐2016 State Plan on Aging available for public review and comment. Comments to this document will be used to formulate the Department's final plan submitted to the federal Administration on Aging in order for the Commonwealth to receive federal funds under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging will hold the following public hearings on the

2012‐2016 State Plan of Aging:

June 18, 2012 Penn State University, University Park, PA

June 25, 2012 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

June 28, 2012 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

For complete details about the draft of the plan, and how you can make your opinions heard, please visit:  http://www.aging.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/department_of_aging_home/18206

New ruling in Milton Hershey School HIV discrimination case

On June 1, a federal judge in Philadelphia denied the Milton Hershey School’s request to move an HIV-discrimination case from Philadelphia to central Pennsylvania, where the school is located.

On November 30, 2011, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed a complaint on behalf of Abraham Smith and his mother, alleging that the Milton Hershey School denied Abraham admission because he has HIV, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The school has not denied the allegation and instead asserts that Abraham’s HIV-positive status presents a direct threat to the school’s 1,800 students.

In denying the Milton Hershey School’s motion to transfer the lawsuit from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, Judge C. Darnell Jones, II of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found “the issue involved in this case is not uniquely or necessarily tied solely to MHS or the Middle District of Pennsylvania but instead is relevant to the lives of over one million HIV-infected people nationwide, many of whom are currently in congregate-living settings and are not creating a direct threat to others.  For more information about the case, please go to AIDSLAWPROJECT.

The great work of the AIDS Law Project and its executive director, Ronda Goldfein, Esq., was recognized by the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund at an award ceremony on Sunday, June 3 in Philadelphia.  DVLF awarded Ms. Goldfein it’s Straight Ally HERO Award.

Study to survey trans women over 55

Martha (“Matty”) Leighton, a graduate student in Family Studies at the University of New Hampshire, is conducting interviews with older trans women as part of a master’s thesis.  Leighton will be interviewing trans women over age 55 to  hear their stories about how their lifetime experience as a trans person has affected them and continues to affect them in older age.

The goal of the study is to explore the unique challenges trans women face as they age, as well as the strengths and resiliencies they may have that help them age successfully.

If you would like to participate in an interview, please contact Matty Leighton at 603-969-7271 or email her at matty.leighton@unh.edu