LGBT Older Adults

This fact sheet from the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, Residents’ Rights and the LGBTQ+ Community: Know Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident, highlights federal residents' rights and nursing home requirements pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) residents. The factsheet also provides options for complaint resolution, information for reporting abuse and resources regarding long-term care and LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Paula Basta, M.Div., Director, Illinois Department on Aging and ADvancing States Member, wrote a guest blog post for ACL about the unique challenges of LGBTQ+ older adults. The blog post highlights the specific struggles this population is facing in Illinios regarding descrimination, representation in aging services, chronic and mental health, and securing access to care, as well as touches on some inititiaves that are being developed to address these issues.

This guide highlights the work of State Units on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging who engage and include the LGBT community in their planning and services. It includes an extensive list of tools and resources to assist with outreach to LGBT communities, data collection, needs assessments, writing LGBT-inclusive planning goals and objectives, and suggested organizational best practices for LGBT-inclusive planning.