Caregivers: A free film and discussion

A free workshop especially for LGBT caregivers, or caregivers of an LGBT person.


Two dates and locations:
Monday, June 21, 10:30 am - 12:00 noon
San Geronimo Valley Community Center
6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, San Geronimo
(includes lunch after the film)

Saturday, June 26, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
The Redwoods
40 Camino Alto, Mill Valley
Refreshments provided

-Featuring the film CAREGIVERS, an HBO documentary telling the story of five caregivers

-Discussion with Deanna Randall, Family Care Specialist at Alzheimer's Association, Northern CA Chapter, who will answer your questions about caring for a friend or loved one who is experiencing memory loss

-Resource materials from other Bay Area agencies that provide services for caregivers.

RSVP to Lynne Teismann at Spectrum - (415) 472-1945 ext. 202.

Underserved and At Risk: Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults

A workshop for Mental Health and Social Service Providers

Saturday, July 10
12:00 Noon – 4:00 PM
Spectrum LGBT Center
30 North San Pedro Road, Suite 160, San Rafael

Cost: $20 per person; $85 for Continuing Education Credit*

Lunch will be provided.

 

*This workshop meets the qualifications for 4 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Provider number 4598. CE contact hours: Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP15508, for 4 contact hours.

RSVP to Cristin Brew, MFT, (415) 472-1945, ext. 203 or register online at http://www.spectrumlgbtcenter.org/

OVERVIEW: An estimated 8,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults (60+) live in Marin County. They are hidden, isolated, and underserved. They do not access the services that are available to all seniors in Marin, and when they do, they do not talk about their lives. Compared to their heterosexual peers, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults are more likely to live alone, less likely to have adult children and partners, less likely to be connected to family of origin, and do not have pension, social security survivor, and other federal benefits.

This workshop provides an overview of clinical issues related to working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Participants will learn relevant terminology, best practices for working with LGBT older adults, and hear from guest panelists who are LGBT older adults. At the end of the workshop, you will:

• understand basic terminology related to working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults
• learn about the ten practical suggestions that will make your services more accessible to LGBT older adults, whether or not these clients “come out” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
• recognize the factors that put LGBT older adults at greater risk than their heterosexual peers for poor physical and emotional health
• learn about community resources that can assist you, and your agency, with serving LGBT older adults

Register by July 8th to guarantee a space. 

Senior Pride Luncheon

Join Spectrum for this June Pride Celebration with LGBT older adults at The Pleasure is Mine Restaurant, 475 East Strawberry Drive, Mill Valley, CA.

Lunch is $20, including tax and tip and will include main course, coffee, tea, or soft drink, and dessert.

A special welcome for our Octogenarian friends (80+ years): Your lunch is on the house! Just let us know when you RSVP that you were born on or before June 9, 1930.

And, for every person 80 years of age or older who attends, BUDWING will donate $1 to Spectrum for each birthday you have celebrated.
After the lunch, a game of BINGO! There's no entry fee to play, but bring a favorite early photo of yourself to get a playing card (keep it decent, please). Modest cash prizes will be awarded every winner.

Spectrum's Pride Luncheon is sponsored by Shubie Gulati, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, & Brandes Investment Partners.

Date: June 9, 2010

Time: 12:00 - 2:00
RSVP by June 4th to Lynne at 415-472-1945, ext. 203.

The Pleasure is Mine Restaurant

475 East Strawberry Drive

Mill Valley, CA.
For directions call the restaurant at 415-381-6400

Defending the Indefensible

The story of Harold Scull and Clay Greene has reached tens of thousands of people, and in its telling has raised many questions. Since we announced our involvement in the case a couple of weeks ago, many readers have emailed the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). We have been touched by the outpouring of support for Clay, who literally lost everything after his partner of 25 years fell on the front porch of their home. We also have been disappointed by Sonoma County’s attacks on Clay—a deflection of the true issue in this case, which is the County’s appalling and unlawful conduct toward Harold and Clay. Clay Greene is not on trial. The County of Sonoma is, and they have yet to address the actual charges raised in this case.

{...Read More}

Kate Kendell, National Center Lesbian Rights

Marin Community Foundation Grants $1.1 Million to Fund Services for Older Adults in Marin County

Novato, CA (April 13, 2010)—To help Marin County's older adults benefit from a range of health and social services and have opportunities to be involved in their community, the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) is making over $1 million in grants to local organizations serving this population.

"The Foundation has a long history of supporting organizations that provide services to older adults in Marin," said MCF President Thomas Peters in announcing the grants. "Since the growth rate of the older population in Marin is the fastest of any county in the state, it's important that as a community we come together to provide coordinated and effective support to these residents."

"These services help ensure the health and independence of Marin's older adults, and as a result, everyone in the community can benefit from their immense talent and skills," he added.

Direct services being funded include health screenings for older adults living in low-income housing facilities, with nursing students at Dominican University of California overseeing their care and improving safety in their homes.

Other service providers will receive grants to provide classes, meals, and case management assistance in order to help older adults access such services as transportation and in-home support as well as public assistance programs.

Additionally, Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay will train organizations serving older adults to work more effectively with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients.

A second group of grants will encourage older adults in Marin to become involved in volunteer and employment opportunities. For example, a grant to the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin will fund its efforts to recruit and manage volunteers, some of whom will be helping at agencies that provide services to other older adults in Marin.

Grants will also provide scholarships so older adults can attend a range of community activities throughout the county, including classes, health fairs, and other gatherings.

Also, a grant to the YWCA of San Francisco & Marin's FiftyPlus Employment Program will support instruction in computer skills as well the agency’s Job Seeker Institutes, which offer training in résumé writing and interview skills.

"Not only do we want to tap into a tremendous resource in our community," said Peters of these efforts, "but it's well known that older adults who are engaged in their community are healthier and remain independent longer."

"We are fortunate in Marin to have nonprofit agencies with a strong commitment to the county's older adults," said Peters. "By supporting their efforts, we are helping ensure that our county has a compassionate and effective support system in place to meet their needs."

The complete list of grants follows:

• Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin $75,000
• City of Novato-Novato Independent Elders Program  $70,000
• Dance Palace Community Center $20,000
• Dominican University of California $50,000
• Jewish Family and Children’s Services $75,000
• Meals of Marin $60,000
• Northern CA Presbyterian Homes and Services $20,000
• Novato Human Needs Center $40,000
• Senior Access $75,000 
• Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay $60,000
• West Marin Community Services $10,000
• West Marin Senior Services $200,000
• Whistlestop $275,000
• YWCA of San Francisco $75,000

About the Marin Community Foundation:
The Marin Community Foundation is the primary center for philanthropy in Marin County, CA, and is one of the largest community foundations in the U.S. It manages the assets of the Leonard and Beryl H. Buck Trust and 350 funds established by individuals, families, and businesses. The Foundation makes significant improvements in communities around the world in two ways: by spearheading initiatives for long-term, sustainable change in Marin, and by distributing grants from donor-advised funds locally, across the U.S., and around the world. 

Now in its 22nd year, the Marin Community Foundation has invested over $800 million in the work of nonprofit organizations. Its assets are approximately $1 billion, with annual grant distributions of approximately $50 million.

LGBT Sonoma Valley seniors connect through new group

Spectrum's "LGBT Seniors: Getting Together in Sonoma" group was mentioned in the Sonoma Valley Sun newspaper this week.

Lesbian and gay Sonoma Valley seniors connect through new group

Gary Carnivele | Special to the Sun

Mainstream media typically offers a limited number of images of the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. News footage of Pride parades feature the obligatory clips of twenty-something hunks wearing skimpy swimwear gyrating on floats and thirty-something women dressed in studded leather revving their hogs. A small number of forty-something activists of both genders occasionally appear on cable news channels. Unfortunately, few gays are seen who are older. It is as if there is an age limit.

Some local LGBT seniors are making themselves more visible by attending a meeting designed just for them. On the third Friday of every month, a number of them gather at the Sonoma Community Center for “LGBT Seniors: Getting Together in Sonoma.” The group is a project of Spectrum LGBT Center, which provides services to Marin County gay seniors and youth. The non-profit saw a need to likewise serve seniors living in Sonoma County. A sister group meets in Santa Rosa.

“Spectrum approached me about doing outreach in Sonoma County to create some sense of community for LGBT seniors and these monthly meetings gives them an opportunity to talk about their issues, which they may not feel free do in a mostly heterosexual setting,” said the group’s facilitator Gary Shepard, who lives in Sonoma with his domestic partner, Paul Besco. “I consider it a discussion group, but try to keep the group from becoming too cerebral. It’s not a support group or even a social group.”

The free meetings offer lively discussions, mutual support, the sharing of pertinent information, and an opportunity for the older segment of the LGBT population to tell their stories. Everyone is welcome to join the group. The group’s organizers promise the meetings are discreet and what is said by all participants is strictly confidential. Of the approximately 60 seniors who have responded to flyers advertising the group, a core of a dozen or so have become regular attendees.

“I was there for the first meeting, because I was missing the gay community that I enjoyed through Spectrum when I lived in Marin,” said Gary “Buz” Hermes, who was born in Napa in 1939 and moved to Sonoma five years ago when he was able to semi-retire. “We each have unique experiences, values, and perspectives to share, but there still seems to be an underlying LGBT connection that overrides our differences and creates a sense of community.”

Joan Brozovich and Sally Smith were thrilled to see the announcement in a local newspaper and jumped at the chance to make contact with other local LGBT seniors. They moved to their colorful home in Glen Ellen in 1998, but missed living near their lesbian friends who have been moving away from one another to the far reaches of the Bay Area. The couple has been together 27 years. They were married in Canada three years ago, at a ceremony attended by friends and family, including Smith’s grown son whom she raised with her husband before the two divorced.

Brozovich, who is a psychologist in private practice in San Francisco, said, “Even though Sally and I made a life-long commitment to each other shortly after we became a couple, there was nothing that could compare to the joy experienced in having the wedding ceremony and turning around and seeing the tears of joy on our guests’ faces. All couples should be allowed to experience that joy.” Marriage equality for same-sex couples was discussed at one of the group’s meetings. Same-sex couples can now legally marry in six states, but not in California.

The group’s other topics, which are selected each month by Shepard, have run the gamut. Participants have discussed: the challenges of coming out; the role of spirituality in their lives; the meaning of friendships; and the relationship between older gays and the younger members of the LGBT community. Shepard strives to encourage a free exchange of ideas. He has invited the leader of a Santa Rosa-based transgender group to come to speak to the group and answer their questions about the “T” in LGBT.

“I moved here four years ago from Santa Cruz and I was shocked to find there were no LGBT groups or gathering places,” said Will Penna, who was a founding member of Triangle Speakers, who made presentations to schools and organizations is an effort to eliminate homophobia. “I was told by a few other gay men who lived here that they didn’t see any need for such. When I learned of this group last fall, I was delighted.”

The members of this group, as well as LGBT seniors all over the world, are redefining what it means to be a senior citizen and how they fit in the larger community. There are some serious hurdles. For the most part, gerontologists haven’t viewed sexual orientation as relevant to their work. According to a recent by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, most national health studies of older citizens fail to access sexual orientation. The tide is changing as of late and seminars about aging are tackling LGBT issues.

“Some people in assisted living facilities feel isolated and don’t feel safe talking to others in fear that they will be outed,” said Shepard, who left his work in broadcasting to work for non-profits like San Francisco’s Shanti Project. “I’ve contacted several local facilities and even though they say they are happy to accept LGBT seniors as residents their intake forms fail to identify them. LGBT seniors don’t have different aging issues, just different cultural issues.”

Shepard also serves on the Advisory Council of the Sonoma County Area Agency on Aging, which is responsible for planning and developing policy and advocating for the needs of seniors. The council advises Sonoma County Supervisors, allocates funds for programs as they become available, and makes certain public transportation is accessible. The agency will soon schedule training seminars to educate service providers about LGBT seniors and their specific needs.

Brozovich is excited about the prospect of joining a local LGBT group that is planning to march in Sonoma’s Fourth of July Parade, but Smith’s reaction is a knitted brow and pensive stare. Smith, who teaches French to seniors at Vintage House in Sonoma, seems a bit more reluctant about expressing her sexual preference in a public setting. Smith seems to soften to the idea when she talks about bringing her partner to a party at Vintage House and introducing Brozovich as her partner. And her students were fully accepting.

Shepard makes certain that all LGBT seniors feel welcome, regardless of how open they are about their homosexuality. Some seniors have been forced back into the closet because of where they live or where they work or which senior center they frequent. This generation remembers pre-gay liberation times, during which members of their community were forced into reparative therapy, kicked out of schools, fired from jobs, or otherwise disgraced when their homosexuality was revealed.

“I’m thinking of moving the meeting to the Sonoma Senior Center, if the group approves, so that we have a stronger presence in the senior community,” said Shepard. “The ultimate outcome of the group is when members make contact with each other outside of the group by sharing rides and helping one another out. There is a real need for such support groups.”

The Sonoma Valley Senior LGBT Group meets at 10:30 a.m. every third Friday of the month at the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma in Room 210. Contact Gary Shepard, Spectrum Program Coordinator at 707.583.2330 or e-mail him at gary@spectrumlgbtcenter.org