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Join us at the Rainbow Supper Club in July
We hope to see you
Wednesday
August 2nd at 4pm
The Rainbow Supper Club meets the first
Wednesday of each month at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, 90 Holden Street, Worcester, MA. Lunch is served at noon, followed by programs or social time.
August 2nd Supper reservations
are due by
Friday July 28th at 9am!
Reservations
If you wish to attend the Rainbow Lunch please call or email WLEN by 9am the Friday prior: 508-756-1545 ext. 404 or wlen@eswa.org. If no one is available please leave a message including your name and phone number and date you plan to attend.
Is there a cost to participate? We suggest a $2.50 donation from guests age 60 and older. The fee for all guests under age 60 is $5.50. Donations and fees help to defray the agency’s cost.
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The Rainbow Lunch Club is gathering in person!
Wednesdays
August 9th & 23rd at noon
The Rainbow Lunch Club meets the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, 90 Holden Street, Worcester, MA. Lunch is served at noon, followed by programs or social time.
Reservations
If you wish to attend the Rainbow Lunch please call or email WLEN by 9am the Friday prior: 508-756-1545 ext. 404 or wlen@eswa.org. If no one is available please leave a message including your name and phone number and date you plan to attend.
Is there a cost to participate? We suggest a $2.50 donation from guests age 60 and older. The fee for all guests under age 60 is $5.50. Donations and fees help to defray the agency’s cost.
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Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board is recruiting members from under-invested, under-represented communities. |
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The Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board (Board) provides a thoughtful space for community members to share their insights and experience with health care researchers and
programs developers as they begin to design new initiatives. Organized by the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care in partnership with the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), the goal of the Board is to ensure that our health care systems are investing in research and programs that best serve the needs of communities across Massachusetts. This is especially important for communities that are under-invested in and under-represented – those often with the highest needs, yet least likely to have their voices heard. The Board will focus on reviewing research and programs about people with complex or chronic illnesses and conditions. Board members will bring their own lived experience as patients or caregivers as well as the broader perspectives of the communities they are closest to, either in their personal lives or because of where they live and work.
So how will this work? In partnership with collaborators at the Patient Insight Institute (PII), a program of PAF, we will recruit 12-15 people from Massachusetts to sit on the Board for renewable, one-year terms. Interested members will submit an application outlining their interest, experience, and the perspectives they hope to bring to discussions. We will select Board members with an eye towards diversity of thought and experience, with a goal of over-representing people from under-invested communities. Board members will be paid an honorarium of $150 per meeting for their service and given appropriate training and education to prepare them to fully participate in conversations about research and program design. The Board will provide guidance at project conception and planning stages before researchers seek funding or Institutional Review Board approval.
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Human Rights Campaign: State maps that show the laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people in areas of non-discrimination, healthcare, youth, and more. |
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Includes the following information:
- Bathroom Bans
- Housing
- Hate Crimes
- Gender Markers
- Conversion Therapy
- and more
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Age Knows No Bounds: Promoting HIV Testing For Older Adults |
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By Terri L. Wilder (She/Her), MSW, SAGE HIV/Aging Policy Advocate and Nikole J. Slaton, SAGE Legal Intern
Imagine a 70-year-old walking into their medical provider's office, their glands swollen and tender. Unbeknownst to them, what they believed to be a minor ailment turns out to be advanced HIV disease. In another scenario, an individual over the age of 64 is hospitalized, diagnosed with HIV and AIDS simultaneously, and passes away just three weeks later.
These stories highlight the consequences of not offering routine HIV testing to older people. Knowing one's HIV status is crucial for accessing timely HIV prevention and treatment services, including essential HIV medical care. Sadly, most HIV test and treatment strategies have primarily focused on younger adults, leaving older individuals behind.
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Mental Health Care Needs and Experiences Among LGBT+ People |
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There has been rising attention to the scope of mental health challenges in the United States, including a desire to better understand the experiences and needs of those who may be most heavily impacted. The LGBT+ community is one such group, having faced lifelong mental health challenges beginning in adolescence and persisting through adulthood. While in some cases, LGBT+ people are accessing mental health care more frequently than non-LGBT+ people, their need for services is greater, and gaps remain. Today, policies seeking to curtail access and rights of LGBT+ people threaten to worsen these disparities, and continuing to monitor the wellbeing of the community will be important.
With this report, we examine LGBT+ people’s needs for and experiences accessing mental health care by analyzing data from a nationally representative 2022 KFF survey with a large sample of LGBT+ adults.
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Addressing LGBTQIA+ Hunger, Poverty, and Discrimination |
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Anti-hunger advocates can be vital players in addressing disproportionately high rates of food insecurity and economic insecurity among LGBTQIA+ individuals and families by strengthening access to federal nutrition programs and by championing the Equality Act, landmark federal legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
Hunger in LGBTQIA+ Communities
LGBTQIA+ individuals and families have long experienced higher rates of hunger and poverty than non-LGBTQIA+ individuals and families. And some community members, including transgender adults, young adults, women, and Black, Latinx, American Indian, and Pacific Islander LGBTQIA+ people, experience particularly high rates.
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A Virtual Community of LGBTQ+ Older Adults
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OutstandingLife's mission is to improve the quality of life of LGBTQ+ older adults by creating opportunities for connectedness through free online programming. We currently serve hundreds of LGBTQ+ seniors through our virtual senior center.
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Talk and be heard at the SAGE LGBTQ+ Elder Hotline. We connect LGBTQ+ older people who want to talk with friendly responders who are ready to listen. If you are an LGBTQ+ elder or care for one, call the free SAGE Hotline, toll-free, at 877-360-LGBT(5428).
Hotline responders:
- Are certified in crisis response
- Offer support without judgment
- Answer questions factually and confidentially
- Provide information about community support resources such as healthcare, transportation, counseling, legal services, and emotional support programs
The SAGE LGBTQ+ Elder Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English and Spanish, with translation in 180 languages.
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This group will meet in person on July 12, 2023 from 6:00pm-7:30pm
at Mt. Wachusett Community College
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Our friends the Rainbow Elders in the Amherst area invite you to visit them
virtually or in person Thursday afternoons on Zoom at 1:00pm
Save the date, RES Summer Picnic is Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Rain date 7/12)
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and their online and in-person gatherings!
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RISE is a research study being conducted by Emory University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. RISE stands for Research Inclusion Supports Equity.
The RISE study includes a research registry created to help ensure the LGBTQIA+ community is represented in Alzheimer’s research.
The registry is for LGBTQIA+ people 18 and older who:
- Have memory concerns or a memory loss diagnosis such as Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia
- Are helping care for someone with memory loss or a memory loss diagnosis
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ESWA-WLEN LGBT+ Resource Guide is now available for download! |
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Please reach out to us if you would like a hard copy of the guide at WLEN@eswa.org or call 508-756-1545 ext. 404
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Updated 2023 Schedule of Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Lunch, Supper, and Social Clubs for Older Adults! |
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Calendar brought to you by The LGBTQIA+ Aging Project at The Fenway Institute.
The LGBTQIA+ Aging Project at The Fenway Instituteprovides support and technical assistance to elder service organizations who are interested in developing community programs for older LGBTQ+ adults in their area. To learn more about starting virtual or in person programs in your area please contact us at (857) 313-6578. We also provide technical support for LGBTQ+older adults who need help joining these programs or are interested in starting one in their town.
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Our Friends at Springwell (formerly BayPath) have excellent LGBTQ+ resources for you |
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If you are in need of resources or socialization during this challenging time, please reach out to our WLEN Peer Workers, Joan and Dot. They are available to chat and break up your day, or assist you in getting the resources you need to stay home and stay safe during the COVID crisis.
To reach us, just email WLEN@eswa.org, or call 508-756-1545; we check our messages regularly, someone will reach out to you soon.
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WLEN– Worcester LGBT Elder Network, is a joint effort of Elder Services of Worcester Area Inc.,
Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging and the Worcester Senior Center.
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