Council on Aging reaches out to gay seniors

Last fall, the Sharon Council on Aging, in collaboration with two other organizations, began hosting monthly meetings for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual seniors.

The Council on Aging seeks to create a comfortable atmosphere for the seniors, who came of age before 1969, the year commonly regarded as the beginning of the gay rights movement. The meetings also are supported by the nonprofit HESSCO Elder Services and the LGBT Aging Project, an advocacy organization.

The gatherings at the Sharon Adult Center provide an open and safe place for the seniors to socialize and they often include specialized educational and health care-related programs that focus on aging LGBT issues. Meals are served by volunteers, which include high school students performing community service.

The program, the first such initiative by a senior center in the state, has attracted an average of about 20 seniors each month from as far away as Boston, according to Sharon Council on Aging Director Norma Simons Fitzgerald.

With the help of a grant, HESSCO is able to provide transportation to and from the train station for seniors who wish to attend the meetings. The meeting time was moved from evenings to lunchtime to accommodate more seniors, since travel is easier during the daytime.

“Our goal is to be as welcoming and accessible as possible,” Fitzgerald said.

Future programs, she said, include a four-week memory fitness series and poetry discussion.

She said that the Council on Aging’s interest in supporting seniors who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual increased after staff members viewed the documentary “Gen Silent.” The film documents the concern that many gay seniors have about going into a nursing home or other institutional setting, where some staff members may regard homosexuality as immoral or something that can be cured.