Connecting isolated LGBT seniors to caring support and friendship
by Debra Kaufman, OUTMemphis Board Member
OUTMemphis Senior Services Committee has launched a new program called We Care Call. The program strives to provide emotional support and to alleviate isolation for LGBT senior adults who do not have traditional family support systems to help them.
Committee Chair Cathi Hayes said, “We want to honor and support our LGBT seniors, many of whom had the courage to be who they are over many decades. They should not be forgotten and we need to help care for them. Their efforts have helped change Memphis.”
Why are LGBT Older Adults Different?
Research published by lgbtmap.org and sageusa.org report that it is generally accepted that LGBT senior adults over 65 differ from the larger U.S. population because they are:
• 2x as likely to live alone
• half as likely to have a spouse, life partner or significant other
• 50% more likely to have no close relatives to call for help
• 4x more likely to have no children to help them
• alone, with 25% stating they have no one to call in case of an emergency
What is the We Care Call program?
This program targets LGBT people who are 55 years or older and living in the Mid- South area that would like a weekly telephone call for support and companionship. The program matches frail or homebound LGBT seniors, caretakers, or community members in a care facility with OUTMemphis volunteers. The program is free to all senior participants and is operated by trained volunteers who are available to make a weekly outreach phone call. It is important to note that the We Care Call program is not a substitute for professional counseling or a crisis hotline.
Who can be a participant?
• must identify as LGBT and be at least 55 years old
• may live alone and/or be isolated because people around you do not know you are LGBT
• be a responsible caretaker of an LGBT spouse, partner or significant other
• be in a care facility for rehabilitation or with an illness
• desire a phone call for support from the same volunteer each week
I’m retired and soon to be 68 …(My buddy) …and I… had a very pleasant chat lasting almost an hour. He now calls me every Wednesday morning, which I look forward to. I am fortunate that I have regular contact with my family and friends, so I’m not as isolated as some in the community. However, it makes me feel good to know there’s another person interested in how I’m doing. For many seniors, the buddy call from the Center is one of their main contacts with the outside world. — We Care Call participant
Who can volunteer?
Any age person, however, it may help volunteers to make a connection with a participant if they are 50+ years. Volunteers may be the only “out” person that the participant talks with on a regular basis. Volunteers should have basic people and phone skills; complete general OUTMemphis volunteer training and We Care Call training. The volunteer will then be matched with a senior participant and will directly schedule each weekly call with the participant.
When I became of age in the late 1970s it should have been a time of fun, joy, and adventure, but when many of my close friends and gay male contemporaries started dying off (of AIDS), I was thrust into a duality of public activism and private caretaker. Now that I am older, I felt a pull to once again serve my chosen LGBT family. The We Care Call program was just the place to start. As a volunteer, I can offer companionship, friendly conversation and advice as needed. I often am left wondering, “Who is helping whom?” I decided that this is how it has always been in the LGBT family, each of us helping, encouraging, assisting each other. — We Care Call volunteer
What do volunteers do?
Volunteers provide, by phone, emotional support to alleviate isolation for LGBT older adults or caretakers who may not have traditional family/friend LGBT support systems. Volunteers schedule the weekly phone calls (volunteer determines length of call) to provide:
• companionship
• engaged conversation
• reading to the participant
• computer assistance
• referrals to other local senior program agencies and resources
If you are interested in becoming a We Care Call volunteer/participant or would like to serve on the committee, contact Senior Services at OUTMemphis.
outmemphis.org/programs-services/seniors/
901-278-6422 Monday – Friday 2 – 9 pm
