This month as we celebrate Pride, we at Aging Wisdom want to highlight some meaningful moments our Creative Engagement Specialists have had connecting with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) older adult clients through tailored, personalized engagement.
For our April blog article Navigating Care for Older LGBTQ+ Adults, one of our Creative Engagement (CE) colleagues teamed up with one of their clients to research images of LGBTQ+ adults that would become the accompanying photographic collage. Our client identifies as lesbian and has always been very involved in Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community.
Having moved into a small, assisted living facility where she is the only queer resident, it is vital that she continues to find ongoing sources of connection 
and expression. For the blog project, the two of them spent time during their visits looking through stock photos. Our client selected the images with which she resonated the most. When the article was finished, she expressed such pride and delight in contributing to the piece. The process of doing the project together gave them both a meaningful way to connect, create, and contribute around the LGBTQ+ community.
Earlier in the year, this same client and CE colleague attended an online virtual support group for older LGBTQ+ adults experiencing memory loss. The group was called “Gathering Together,” and was hosted by Seattle’s GenPride.
It can be intimidating attending something new by yourself. Our CE colleague got to not only participate in the gathering with our client, but also help her navigate the logistics of accessing the monthly support group on her computer. This was both gratifying and assuring for our client. She was able to make some new friends and come together each month for a variety of activities such as singing, guided muscle relaxation, and breath work.
For many of the clients we see, mobility challenges make leaving the house especially difficult. A few months ago, our CE colleague helped their same client get transportation and accompaniment to the “Objects of Pride: A Queer Antiques Road Show,” a fun gala hosted by Capitol Hill’s newly opened GenPride Center.
Some highlights from the visit summary for that event gives a wonderful view into the special time our client had: “[She] clapped in affirmation of GenPride’s recognition of Seattle’s achievement as one of the top three cities for gay couples to live in, and when the director of MOHAI presented on Seattle’s queer history, several community members took to the mic to talk about their involvement in such, and she raised her hand and nodded along to familiar places they mentioned.”
Recently another of our CE colleagues was able to share in meaningful memories with one of our clients who is gay and the only queer resident in their adult family home. He does not have many outlets for social engagement, let alone opportunities to reminisce with someone, and so his visits with our CE colleague are an opportunity to share stories of his life.
Here are some highlights from a recent visit they had together: “He asked what was on the very top of his bookcase, so I brought some books down for
him to see. The book Gay by The Bay, A History of Queer Culture In San Francisco immediately caught his attention. Paging through the book, he was filled with emotion: ‘To be seen, heard and understood, we could finally be ourselves.’”
He talked about living in the city and feeling community: “‘It was called gay liberation. It was a long road, a long time coming. We could be out of the closet and be free. Humor was one of the main ways we could survive, to be seen…’ I thanked him for sharing his stories and told him how much that meant to me. It was a special morning.”
There are so many ways our CE colleagues get to support, accompany and uplift LGBTQ clients. We are grateful for their trust in us, and for their willingness to share their interests and memories with us.
To learn more about how we can help you navigate care and support, click here to schedule a get-acquainted call with one or our Certified Care Managers.
*Photo credit: Seattle Gay Pride Parade 1993 photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives, accessed 6/27/2024 on Flickr Creative Commons.
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Celebrating a lifetime of survival
LGBTQ older people have been making change, big and small, for decades. From being among the first to come out in cities across the country and the world to standing up for their rights at the Stonewall Uprising to caring for friends and loved ones impacted by the AIDS epidemic, and more, today’s LGBTQ elders have interesting and important stories to share about perseverance and resilience. From the GLAAD Media Reference Guide.
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