NCTE Talks to Hill Staffers about Trans Aging
http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/ncte-talks-to-hill-staffers-about-trans-aging/Today I was privileged to speak to Congressional staffers and aging advocates about the challenges facing transgender older adults. In conjunction with the National LGBT Aging Roundtable, SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force presented a briefing this morning at which I shared the podium with Laurie Young of the Task Force, Hope Barrett of Chicago's Howard Brown Health Clinic, and SAGE's John Johnson.
Like transgender people of all ages, trans older adults face social stigma and discrimination in the workplace and when seeking housing, health care and social services, and suffer serious health disparities. In the NCTE/NGLTF National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 30% of adults over 60 reported having lost a job because they were transgender. Trans older adults are also more likely to live on their own, tend to have fewer social supports, and are vulnerable to elder abuse. They face systemic inequities, such as the frequent exclusion of medically necessary care under Medicare, and use of gender markers on Medicare cards that out people when they seek basic care.
