SHARING SOURCES: SAGECare

SAGECare

SAGE was formed in 1978, building off the movement of the Stonewall uprising and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement, to ensure that LGBT+ older people could age with respect and dignity. As the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT+ older adults, SAGE is involved in direct services, advocacy, housing development, education, and policy to advance their mission. 

When surveyed, 9 out of 10 LGBT+ people feared discrimination in care settings if providers knew their sexual orientation or gender identity. SAGE’s innovative LGBT+ cultural competency program, SAGECare directly addresses this issue through training service providers to create more LGBT+-welcoming long-term care facilities and other providers working with older people. SAGECares credentials also help LGBT+ people find trained providers. SAGE’s training (in English and Spanish) is available to skilled nursing facilities, health care organizations, assisted living communities, hospice and palliative care organizations, home health providers, as well as anyone providing services to older people. To date over 500 providers and more than 100,000 people have been trained by the SAGECare program in 48 states. 

Estimates project that there will be 7 million LGBT+ people over the age of 50 by 2030. LGBT+ elders are twice as likely to be single and live alone and are four times less likely to have children then their heterosexual peers. These projections, alongside research showing that 88% of LGBT+ older people would feel more comfortable with health care services provided by staff trained to understand and respond to LGBT+ needs and concerns, make SAGE’s work that much more important. 

Some SAGECares educational offerings include: learning best practices for creating communities welcoming to LGBT+ older adults, their loved ones, and their caregivers; why LGBT+ older adults of color may have different needs and relationships with their identity; exploring the specific needs and experiences of LGBT+ older adults with dementia. Another of SAGE’s projects, the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, established in 2010, provides on-demand resources for practitioners and organizations from best practice guides for care to assisting in end-of-life-decisions. 

For over 40 years SAGE has led the movement for access to quality care for the LGBT+ aging population. With the increase in people identifying as LGBT+, SAGE services will continue to play a vital role in educating organizations and individuals in the years ahead.