Your Rights & Resources

This report seeks to increase understanding of the unique needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults so that service providers, advocates, the aging network,b and policymakers can consider these challenges when serving this population or passing laws that impact older adults and the LGBTQ+ community. Health and wellbeing, economic security, and social connections are among the cornerstones for successful aging, yet these are areas in which many LGBTQ+ elders face substantial barriers—stemming from current discrimination as well as the accumulation of a lifetime of legal and structural discrimination, social stigma, and isolation. Despite these challenges, many LGBTQ+ elders have survived and even thrived. Others struggle with the burdens of poverty and social isolation. Each older LGBTQ+ adult carries their own story of pride and silence, of resilience and struggle, of love and loss.