Main description:

The study of LGBT aging is in its infancy. In the absence of federal data on this often hidden population, community groups and organizations from across the country have taken it upon themselves to understand and assess the needs of this first cohort to reach later life in a time of LGBT public consciousness. Eight papers are included in this compilation: three from the east coast (Boston, New York, and Washington, DC), four from the Midwest (Chicago, Bowling Green and surrounding areas, St. Louis, and the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul), and one from the west coast (Palm Springs area). Together, these reports provide a community-based and regionally nuanced image of the strengths of, and the challenges faced by, older LGBT persons-local snapshots that together form a partial tapestry of LGBT aging in the U.S. They also serve as a source of lessons learned in the field-efforts that may be seen to parallel those undertaken by LGBT communities, then forming, during the 1980s and 1990s to address the growing health crisis of HIV/AIDS, a time when formal responses were slow and treatments still being developed.
As such, the voice of the communities represented herein-the voices of these older adults-is clear, strong and apparent. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality.

Contents:

1. Introduction: LGBT Aging: The Contributions of Community-Based Research Brian de Vries and Catherine F. Croghan Part I: Framing Issues 2. Social Care Networks and Older LGBT Adults: Challenges for the Future Mark Brennan-Ing, Liz Seidel, Britta Larson, and Stephen E. Karpiak 3. Investigating the Needs and Concerns of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults: The Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology Nancy A. Orel 4. Friends, Family, and Caregiving Among Midlife and Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adults Catherine F. Croghan, Rajean P. Moone, and Andrea M. Olson Part II: Diverse Populations 5. The Greater St. Louis LGBT Health and Human Services Needs Assessment: An Examination of the Silent and Baby Boom Generations Meghan Jenkins Morales, M. Denise King, Hattie Hiler, Martin S. Coopwood, and Sherrill Wayland 6. Aging Out in the Desert: Disclosure, Acceptance, and Service Use Among Midlife and Older Lesbians and Gay Men Aaron T. Gardner, Brian de Vries, and Danyte S. Mockus 7. Aging Out: A Qualitative Exploration of Ageism and Heterosexism Among Aging African American Lesbians and Gay Men Imani Woody 8. Service Utilization Among Older Adults With HIV: The Joint Association of Sexual Identity and Gender Mark Brennan-Ing, Liz Seidel, Andrew S. London, Sean Cahill, and Stephen E. Karpiak Part III: Interventions/Applications 9. Do LGBT Aging Trainings Effectuate Positive Change in Mainstream Elder Service Providers? Kristen E. Porter and Lisa Krinsky