SAGE's 2010 Annual Report: Aging Innovation

2010: A Year in Review

The LeGaL Foundation announces that Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE, will be presented with its 2010 Community Vision Award for his distinguished record of service to the LGBT community. The LeGaL Foundation is the non-profit arm of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Law Association of Greater New York, one of the largest stand-alone bar associations of its kind in the country.

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SAGE, in partnership with 10 leading organizations nationwide, receives a historic federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the country’s first National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. This Resource Center will connect aging providers and LGBT organizations around the country with technical assistance, training and key resources to support LGBT older adults.

SAGE celebrates the grand opening of the new SAGE Harlem offices, marking the first LGBT space in Harlem dedicated solely to older adults. Located on the historic Adam Clayton Boulevard and 125th Street, SAGE Harlem offers information, referrals, programming, and social activities for older LGBT residents in the community, and partners with local aging service providers to expand access and services for LGBT older adults in Harlem and the surrounding communities.

At the 22nd Annual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, the largest gathering of LGBT activists in the country, SAGE organizes and presents a track on LGBT aging issues, the first in the conference’s history. The track includes a panel
on Outing Age 2010, an update of the original groundbreaking report that presents an in-depth look at public policy issues and challenges facing millions of LGBT older adults in the U.S.

SAGE and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) release our original policy report, Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults, at the American Society on Aging’s national conference in Chicago. The groundbreaking report is the first major written collaboration between LGBT advocacy organizations and national aging organizations to comprehensively examine the issues facing LGBT older adults. One month later, at an event in Washington, DC, more than 50 leaders attend a discussion of the report at the Center for American Progress.

The Gay & Lesbian Review, a bimonthly journal on LGBT history, culture and politics, publishes an essay authored by SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams in its March-April issue. Adams’s essay—“‘Getting to Neutral’ on Aging Policy”—explores how federal policy can better address the unique needs of LGBT older adults, and several key areas where federal policies and practices can support LGBT elders, including Social Security, Medicaid, and increased funding for data collection and research.

SAGE opens an office in Washington, DC to strengthen its presence in the Beltway and ensure that the federal conversation considers the needs of LGBT elders. The SAGE office is housed at the headquarters of the National Caucus and Center on
Black Aged, Inc.

SAGE applauds President Obama’s historic April 15 memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to require that hospitals accepting Medicare and Medicaid dollars—nearly every hospital in America—recognize a patient’s “designated partner” in terms of visitation and health consultation rights.

SAGE honors legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim with a Lifetime Achievement in Theater Award at a reception held April 14 at the Brasserie Cognac in New York City, attended by nearly 100 people.

SAGE celebrates National LGBT Health Awareness Week and New York State’s LGBT Health Awareness Month with its 3rd Annual Health Fair for LGBT Older Adults. SAGE coordinates about 40 health and community organizations from across the city to provide resources, and more than 200 people attend the health fair.

SAGE speaks at a Congressional briefing on LGBT aging led by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force—a precursor to SAGE’s gathering of the National LGBT Aging Roundtable. Nearly 60 influential leaders in the federal policy and aging arenas attend the briefing.

SAGE holds its annual gathering of the National LGBT Aging Roundtable, in partnership with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in Washington, DC. The meeting brings together more than 40 leaders working with LGBT older adults from around the country to discuss the state of LGBT aging in their communities and at the federal level.

SAGE joins the New Beginning Initiative, a collaboration of expert organizations coordinated by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The Initiative focuses on concrete federal administration and regulatory changes that will support LGBT older adults and increase federal support for our communities.

SAGE takes part in a May 5 Senior Day sponsored by the New York State Office for the Aging in Albany, NY. SAGE Advocates, and members from SAGE Upstate and SAGE of the Hudson Valley, work with the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network. During Senior Day, SAGE meets with Senator Rubén Diaz and New York State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

SAGE begins working closely with Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to inform the drafting of a comprehensive, federal legislative proposal that would address various policy concerns facing LGBT older people, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid inequities for LGBT older adults, mental health, housing and cultural competence, among many others.

SAGE co-sponsors a June 7 national “teletown hall meeting” with President Obama and HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss the Affordable Care Act.
The meeting examines the Administration’s efforts to combat senior scams and fraud in advance of the first mailing of the $250 “donut hole” rebate checks.

SAGE serves as an official sponsor of NewFest, the annual New York LGBT film festival. SAGE sponsors two films, including Gen Silent, which features the LGBT Aging Project, one of SAGE’s organizational partners, and Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement, which ultimately wins the Newfest’s Audience Award for best documentary.

SAGE launches a seven-week, New York City-wide advertising campaign showcasing SAGECAP (Caring & Preparing), SAGE’s innovative LGBT program that supports caregivers as they offer care to an aging loved one. The campaign reaches 33 million people, and in October wins the 2010 GLAAD Media Award in Advertising for Outstanding Social Marketing.

Through its innovative program, SAGEWorks, SAGE collaborates with Reshard Riggins, Associate Director of Workforce Development and Economic Empowerment at GMHC,
to lead a seminar entitled, “Marketing Yourself: Communicating the Right Message for Potential Employers.” Additionally, SAGEWorks hosts eight orientations in June and July to welcome local LGBT older adults to the program, and begins Workforce Development computer classes in July.

Throughout the month, SAGE holds Pride events citywide, including SAGE’s Gay Pride Social, the Women’s Pride Party, the Harlem Pride Party, the LGBT Activist Timeline and COMING OUT: A Historical Retro-spective of NY’s Trailblazing LGBTQ Organizations. For the annual New York City Pride March, hundreds of SAGE constituents and supporters join SAGE as we celebrate more than 30 years of pathbreaking work with, and on behalf of, LGBT older adults.

SAGE kicks off a partnership with Front Runners New York, and serves as the sole recipient of proceeds to the 2010 Front Runner’s 29th Lesbian and Gay Pride Run. Front Runners also begins offering a variety of workshops and workouts for SAGE members. Front Runners President Robert Lennon says, “Front Runners and SAGE are true communities, providing physical and social support that generates friendship, family and fitness in life.”

The New York Senate passes a resolution on June 24 honoring
SAGE with a special recognition during Pride Month. The resolution—with New York State Senator Bill Perkins as lead sponsor—cites the unique role that SAGE plays: “Our society is greatly benefited by the purposeful efforts of individuals who unite for the cause of improving the quality of life for others, and who proactively work toward the goal of dignity for all.”

SAGE co-leads a half-day session on LGBT aging issues at the 35th
Annual Conference and Tradeshow by n4A (the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging). The session, attended by more than 60 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) leaders nationwide, includes a discussion on the health and economic barriers facing LGBT elders, and a panel led by leaders from various local AAAs. Later in the conference, SAGE co-facilitates a listening session with Greg Case from the Administration on Aging about the launch of the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.

AARP’s “Inside E Street” program, an online news program on older adults, interviews SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams on the political, cultural and economic issues facing LGBT elders. The interview is part of a series titled, “Gay and Grey,” looks more broadly at the legal issues facing all Americans, including older adults.

SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams joins other leaders of national aging organizations at a Capitol Hill briefing focused on the opportunities for diverse older adults in this year’s reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). In addition to SAGE, representatives from the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), the National Caucus & Center on Black Aged (NCBA), and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) highlighted key issues, from health and economic concerns to barriers to accessing services, and made recommendations for OAA reauthorization.

SAGEWorks Program Manager Michele D’Amato and SAGE Director of Community Services Tom Weber begin traveling across the country to share the success of the SAGEWorks program with four SAGE affiliates: SAGE Upstate (Syracuse, NY), SAGE at the Center on Halsted in Chicago, SAGE Metro St. Louis, and SAGE of the Rockies. Since then, each affiliate has launched its own SAGEWorks program, which teaches participants the technology skills to help them find paid employment.

SAGE continues our collaboration with AARP by joining them at their “Orlando@50+” conference in September. Working with PRiSM—AARP’s LGBT network for members, allies, and staff—Catherine Thurston, SAGE Senior Director for Programs, joins PRiSM Training Coordinator Imani Woody, AARP writer and producer Dave Singleton, and Lambda Legal staff attorney Natalie Chin on a panel that explores what it means to age “out and proud” in the later years of one’s life. This interactive session is followed by the Third Annual LGBT@50+ Reception hosted by Kate Clinton.

Six months after the release of the groundbreaking report Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults, SAGE, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and the Center for American Progress release eleven issue briefs, each detailing how current aging polices, laws, and benefits can better support LGBT older adults.

SAGE launches the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, unveiling the official web site, which over time will grow into a highly interactive, multimedia site that will equip LGBT older adults and their loved ones with information on legal issues, caregiving, lifelong planning and housing, and more. The site will also house online training and other resources for aging providers and LGBT organizations. In its first few months, the site registers more than 9,000 registered users and reaches more than 20,000 unique visitors.

SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams speaks at the first White House Conference on HIV and Aging Meeting, which brings together leading advocates from around the country to discuss program interventions and policy solutions that will better support the first generation of older adults to live and age with HIV/AIDS in large numbers. SAGE’s work on HIV and aging has been led in collaboration with the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA) and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), and through the generous support of MAC AIDS Fund.

SAGE Harlem Program Manager Ruby Fernandez-Brown receives a 2010 Fusión Award for her years of work on behalf of New York City’s LGBT Latino community. The Fusión Awards, presented by O.S.C.O. (Organización Señorita Colombia), recognize the contribution of individuals and associations that belong to and promote positive images of the LGBT and Colombian community.

SAGE hosts its 15th Annual Awards & Gala, honoring those who have made significant contributions to improve the lives of LGBT older adults. Held at New York City’s Gotham Hall, hundreds of guests, including Kate Clinton and Anthony Romero, turn out to honor Edie Windsor, recipient of the Joyce Warshow Lifetime Achievement Award; Urvashi Vaid, recipient of the Ken Dawson Advocacy Award; and MetLife, recipient of the first ever SAGE Corporate Leadership Award.

At a public meeting in Milwaukee, WI, SAGE Director of Community Advocay and Capacity Building Serena Worthington meets with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and thanks her for her work to pass the Affordable Care Act. Over the next five years, community health centers across the country will receive $11 billion in funding, which has the potential to help LGBT older adults secure better health care and protect them against insurance discrimination.

SAGE welcomes friends and supporters, including New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, to celebrate the November 8 unveiling of its new space at 305 Seventh Avenue, 15th floor. Made possible through a generous award from the New York City Council, the Manhattan Borough President and the Calamus Foundation, the new space will be dedicated primarily to expanding SAGE’s services and programs to the thousands of
LGBT older adults who live in New York City.

SAGE presents a groundbreaking half-day, pre-conference session on November 11 at the Gerontological Society of America conference in New Orleans, leading the conference’s first-ever session dedicated to LGBT aging. SAGE Director of Community Advocacy and Capacity Building Serena Worthington chairs the panel, focusing on the latest research on LGBT older adults and the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.

In November, representatives from 17 SAGE affiliates travel to New York City for the annual SAGENet Gathering, which focuses on building affiliates’ fundraising and advocacy work, and highlighting the work that affiliates are leading in their local communities. John Phillips of SAGE CenLA (Central Louisiana), says of the gathering, “The experience of being able to meet so many people who are working to ensure that the LGBT aging community and LGBT elders have a voice, and to participate in as well as simply listen to discussions about issues currently affecting our lives, was incredible, to say the least.”

SAGE holds its first-ever conference created by, for and about LGBT older adults, “The Future of Aging Is in Our Hands: A National Conference and Expo for LGBT Older Adults.” This unique conference brings together hundreds of LGBT older adults from around the country for three days of interactive workshops, exciting plenary sessions and multiple networking opportunities, providing LGBT older adults with the resources they need to advocate on their own behalf—and reshape the future of LGBT aging. This conference is made possible through the generous support of The Atlantic Philanthropies and MAC AIDS Fund.

SAGE hosts two Thanksgiving parties to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season and to share in food, friends, and extended families. First, SAGE hosts its annual dinner at the LGBT Center, where more than 140 attendees are served a full Thanksgiving dinner by Deutsche Bank volunteers and SAGE staff. Later that evening, SAGE Harlem hosts its first Thanksgiving potluck celebration, with neighbors and friends each bringing a special dish.

SAGE, in partnership with other members of the Diverse Elders Coalition, call on Congress to strengthen the vital program for older adults—as a presidential commission explores the future of Social Security as part of a deficit-reduction plan. SAGE also begins working with the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) to educate our various communities and the broader public—through town halls, racial and ethnic media, LGBT media, and new and online media—about the ways in which Social Security affects our lives.

SAGE Senior Director for Policy and Communications Robert Espinoza serves as a panelist for the plenary, “State of the Movement: Fresh Perspectives on Issues Facing the LGBT Community,” at the 26th Annual Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. Robert discusses the state of LGBT aging and how key policy opportunities, such as the reauthorization of the OAA, can benefit LGBT people of all ages. The other panelists included representatives from the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, Freedom to Marry, and GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders).

SAGE and its six partners in the Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC) meet for the first time as a coalition in Washington, DC to begin concretizing a policy agenda that will reach across our communities on concerns such as the Older Americans Act, the Affordable Care Act and Social Security. The coalition also agrees on a unifying purpose: “To win policy gains that improve the lives of low-income people of color, American Indians & Alaska Natives, and LGBT elders, and to educate and engage our communities on policies that impact our lives.”

SAGE kicks off a month of festivities by hosting three holiday parties for its constituents around the city. On December 4, SAGE and the Stonewall Quarter Share, a circle of young professionals effecting positive change in New York City’s LGBT community, co-host the 2010 SAGE Holiday Social. Eight days later, SAGE throws a “Women’s Holiday Party,” where the attendees lunch together and exchange gifts. Finally, SAGE Harlem celebrates Kwanzaa, complete with food, music, and dancing.

More than 2,000 guests attend the Holiday Gifts for Kids & Seniors Party on December 3 at Chelsea Piers, Pier 60. SAGE is proud to be a beneficiary of this annual holiday tradition and grateful to have received more than $12,000 in charitable gifts from attendees. SAGE extends our thanks to hosts Robby Browne, David Tufts and Chris Kann, as well as to raffle prize donors JetBlue and Eyal Feldman, Boy Butter Lubes CEO.

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, SAGE, alongside ten other leading community organizations, co-sponsor “Out of the Darkness,” a candlelight vigil and gathering to honor those we have lost. The gathering includes a march, as well as a planned Time of Reflection and Reading of Names of Those We Have Lost to AIDS.

SAGE Policy Associate Allison Auldridge appears before the New York City Council’s Aging Committee to discuss the susceptibility of LGBT older adults to elder abuse, and, in December, on how city budget cuts affect SAGE’s homebound constituents. Shortly after, Allison also testifies at a hearing on providing culturally competent care and services to LGBT older adults, where she’s joined by SAGE constituent Sandy Warshaw, who recounts personal stories of her experiences in health care settings.

SAGE and four organizational partners release the results of a nationwide survey of the national aging network’s capacity to meet the specific needs of LGBT older adults. The report, Ready to Serve? The Aging Network and Older LGB and T People, found that few agencies offered LGBT-specific programs or outreach, but a majority were willing to offer LGBT aging training to staff. Agencies that had provided such training were more likely to offer targeted services and outreach to LGBT older adults, and more likely to have received a request for help from an LGBT older adult.

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