SAGE is the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. SAGE has pioneered programs and services for the aging LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a national voice on LGBT aging issues. In 2005, SAGE became the first official LGBT delegate at the White House Conference on Aging. In 2010, SAGE was awarded a three-year $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration on Aging to seed the creation of the nation's only National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. Click here for SAGE's mission.
 

Why LGBT Older People Turn to SAGE for Help
Despite advances in LGBT civil rights, many older adult care providers never stop to consider that their older clients may be lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) - and even those who do may not know how to provide services in culturally-sensitive ways. As a result, LGBT older adults often avoid seeking needed services out of fear of discrimination. The tendency for LGBT older adults to go "back in the closet" is particularly pronounced in situations where they are most vulnerable - such as when accessing home health care or residing in assisted living or residential care facilities. One study indicated that LGBT older adults may be as much as five times less likely to access needed health and social services because of their fear of discrimination from the very people who should be helping them. This type of social isolation has an enormous impact in the health and well-being of LGBT older adults. With LGBT older adults twice as likely to live alone than heterosexual older adults, more than four times as likely to have no children, the informal caregiving support we assume is in place for older adults may not be there for LGBT elders.
 

SAGE's Strategic Plan
SAGE has adopted a new strategic plan that will guide SAGE's future as we continue to grow in our ability to serve our LGBT elders and advocate on their behalf. Read all about how SAGE will continue to provide services, programs, advocacy and communications. Click here to read a summary of the Strategic Plan.  

SAGE's Financials

• Click here for a copy of SAGE's 990 Form.
• Click here for SAGE's 2009 Annual Report.

SAGE's Ad Campaign
In the fall of 2008, SAGE's launched an ad campaign which took New York City by storm with the message that "there's no expiration date on a full and active life." SAGE ads appeared in print media and in the public transportation system all over NYC. These ads depict SAGE clients, social workers, donors and volunteers in a vibrant light. Click for more information.
 

History and Background
Programs like SAGE become an important "safety net" for LGBT elders. Incorporated by lesbian and gay activists and aging service professionals in 1978 as Senior Action in a Gay Environment, SAGE (now Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) works with LGBT elders to address and overcome the challenges of discrimination in older adult service settings, while also being an essential component in the creation of informal caregiving support, and development of new "family" networks. SAGE's programs include:

• The nation's first Friendly Visiting program for frail and homebound LGBT older adults
• The country's first support group for LGBT older adults with HIV
• The nation's first program dedicated to caregiving services for LGBT older adults.
• The nation's first LGBT Senior Drop-In Center,
• The creation of the first national conferences devoted to LGBT aging concerns
• The only Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Faith in Action" grantee (of more than 2,000 nationwide) specifically targeting LGBT older people for supportive services,
• The recipient of a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration on Aging to create the nation's only national resource center on LGBT aging.

Today, there are a growing number of retirement communities, senior housing and other high-end housing options targeting LGBT older adults. But for hundreds of thousands of LGBT older adults who will be aging in place in their own communities, SAGE programs and services provide the link they need to a safe and welcoming community.