And they've been unafraid to tackle the tough issues. While some were afraid to talk about abuse in our community, she knew that our community could only be strengthened by this honest discussion. Just as Phyllis and Del have helped us navigate our 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, they are also helping lead us through our issues as old gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. They served as participants in the White House Conference on Aging and led workshops at a recent SAGE conference on aging issues. A recent stop of our families tour in Providence, Rhode Island, reminded us that no discussion of family issues is complete without the recognition that our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered family is comprised of individuals from each generation.
Issues related to schools, parenting, and children are only one part of our life cycle.
Issues related to Medicaid, social security, health care and social services are another. As our colleagues at SAGE remind us, in the world s eye, the GLBT community appears to lack a family of all ages, and in the imagination of many of us, there is no future beyond age 40. Seniors are nearly invisible in the GLBT community, shunned to the detriment of us all. In our work, as diligently as we work for the lives and well-being of young people we must address the needs of seniors. We must challenge bias in the healthcare system, demand fair treatment in mainstream senior housing, work toward building our own senior housing, challenge the invisibility in the greater LGBT community, and ultimately bring seniors into our community s family portrait, so that the world knows us as a family of all ages with a future to celebrate.