Today, as they age and retire, the first Stonewall generation has another fight, a fight for the dignified, fair and equal treatment of themselves, their partners and friends as they age. While the policy recommendations below are important to all LGBT Americans, they are particularly vital for LGBT seniors who are forced to navigate a…
Our seniors helped make our LGBT community what it is today, but they are more than just part of our past; they are woven into every part of our community, helping to shape who we are and showing us who we will become. As the first generation aging as an openly LGBT population, they…
This list of community recommendations is excerpted from the recent study conducted by Dr. Jim Zians regarding the needs and circumstances of San Diego’s LGBT seniors. It’s a partial listing (part one of a three-part series) that addresses only some of the identified needs. The other two segments will follow in subsequent columns. Clearly there…
LGBT baby boomers, who will begin retiring in 2011, were 24 years old during the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, and are part of the estimated 1.5 million senior LGBT Americans many have called the first “out and proud” generation. Yet, too often they have been excluded from the social science research regarding…
Last week the headlines read, “San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Board of Education – representing the second largest school district in California – voted unanimously in support of a Bullying, Harassment and Intimidation Prohibition policy.” The policy states that the SDUSD will not tolerate any student or staff member being bullied, harassed or intimidated…
Recently, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) published the 2010 National LGBT Movement Report, an overview of the fiscal and programmatic health of almost 70 percent of the budgets of LGBT social justice and advocacy organizations in the U.S. The report is described in its conclusion as follows: “The 2010 National LGBT Movement Report provides important…
An estimated 18,000 people in San Diego County are currently living with HIV/AIDS. Roughly 83 percent of those infected are men who have sex with men (75 percent) or are men who have sex with men and use injectable drugs (8 percent). Among those living with HIV/AIDS, approximately 40 percent live below the federal poverty…
One of the remarkable things about the San Diego LGBT community is its spirit of service. A spirit born out of a desire to help those who have been less fortunate for no reason other than “it’s the right thing to do.” The number of individuals who create events, projects and activities designed to help…
The energy, talent and creativity of our community’s new leadership generation are a vital resource for all of us. Part of the work of every community and any community organization is to ensure the continual development of fresh ideas, new faces, bold energy and new solutions to continue to move us forward. From new political…
San Diego’s volunteerism is legendary, and it is also true of LGBT San Diego. In spite of all our differences, we can all work together for a common cause. Our community has more than its share of well-known names that we all recognize and generally agree have been forces for change – activists, out politicians…
