Retirement PAGE 24 LGBTQ Couple on Finding APRIL 11, 2019 a Safe Place to Call Home
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PRIDESOURCE.COM Inclusive Justice to Host Gay Catholic Church Activist PAGE 20 Another Day in LGBTQ History: Even in Victory Our Work Continues PAGE 12 A Welcoming Braver Than Before Retirement PAGE 24 LGBTQ Couple on Finding APRIL 11, 2019 a Safe Place to Call Home VOL. 2715 | FREE BTL Photo: Andrew Potter VOL. 2715 • APRIL 11, 2019 • ISSUE 1106 PRIDE SOURCE MEDIA GROUP 20222 Farmington Rd., Livonia, Michigan 48152 SPRING HEALTH Phone 734.293.7200 4 Retirement Made LGBTQ Friendly PUBLISHERS 8 SAGE Table Looks to LInk Up Different Age Susan Horowitz & Jan Stevenson Groups EDITORIAL Editor in Chief 10 1 in 5 New HIV Diagnoses Are Among 19 Susan Horowitz, 734.293.7200 x 102 Lantinx Gay and Bisexual Men [email protected] Entertainment Editor 10 Whitmer Declares April Sexual Assault Chris Azzopardi, 734.293.7200 x 106 Awareness Month [email protected] 14 Let’s Talk About Drinking and Health Feature News Editor Kate Opalewski, 734.293.7200 x 108 [email protected] 16 Flint Couple Tackles Kidney Disease, Highlights Story for National Donate Life Month Editorial Assistant Eve Kucharski, 734.293.7200 x 105 16 22 [email protected] News & Feature Writers Emell Derra Adolphus, Michelle Brown, Ellen Knoppow, Jason Michael, Drew Howard, Jonathan Thurston CREATIVE Webmaster & MIS Director Kevin Bryant, [email protected] Columnists Charles Alexander, Michelle E. 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To their pleasant surprise, the film shown was GLAAD Media Award-nominated. “The movie that they showed last week was the recent release ‘Boy Erased,’” Hahn said. “We were quite surprised that in a senior community of this size they would actually choose a gay-themed movie and really, [the movie is about] such a controversial subject [conversion therapy].” Hahn and Ploegar were surprised a second time after the film was over. “A number of residents came over and spoke with us and gave us hugs and many of them had tears in their eyes going, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re so sorry that these things happened and we hope that you didn’t experience anything like this when you were young!’” Hahn said. “The people that talked to us after the movie were extremely warm and caring about us as a whole. ... That had a good effect on us.” Since moving into the Henry Ford Village senior living community, the couple said that their experience has been nothing but positive, and any concerns they might have had about LGBTQ discrimination have been dispelled. Ed Ploegar and Rick Hahn in their new home at Henry Ford Village. BTL Photos: Andrew Cohen Though the couple wasn’t directly looking for a retirement opportunity when they learned of community and now what are going to end been physically attacked. Men were physically autonomy in HFV’s decision-making than at of HFV, they said it had been in the back of up being lifelong friendships.” attacked nearly three times more often. Those other senior living communities. their minds for years as a potential spot to live who had been physically attacked reported “I think that talking about resident-led when they retired. poorer current mental health.” programming is number one, but one further “What really piqued our curiosity was when Aging LGBTQ Part of the reason LGBTQ adults face example of that is that we have three residents we received one of the fliers a couple of years Though Hahn and Ploegar’s experience discrimination of this sort is because of ignorant that sit on the board of directors which help ago and as we looked at the bottom, we saw it should be the standard, it’s an unfortunate caregivers. Adam Sterling is the resident life with the governance which I think really speaks was equal opportunity housing, pet-friendly, reality that many LGBTQ elders don’t have and business development director at HFV. He to the level of respect we have for the residents wheelchair accessible and ... gay-friendly? the luxury of being an out couple without said that cases of health care provider-related and their independence and empowerment in ‘When did this happen?’” Hahn said. “So that’s facing discrimination for their orientation. LGBTQ abuse is something he’s actively fighting the community,” he said. when we started thinking more seriously about The National Center on Elder Abuse found that via the organization’s existing policies, adding Peter Falzon is an HFV board member Henry Ford Village. Ed and I are seniors, we’re of the roughly 9 million of LGBTQ-identifying that he’s always looking for ways to improve who is openly gay and whose parents live getting up in years and we’re both a couple adults in the U.S., roughly 16 percent of them HFV’s knowledge base. in the community currently. He agrees with of widowers. We had longtime significant are elders who face added challenges when “The board adopted a statement of Sterling’s assessment of the HFV diversity- others prior to us getting together and so we searching for post-retirement housing and care. understanding professing its openness oriented culture. When asked if he noticed wanted to find a place that we would be in a “LGBT elders face the typical challenges of and desire to be a warm and welcoming the organization’s commitment to inclusion safe environment when the time comes that aging, including the possibility of elder abuse place without discrimination for the LGBT when he first became aware of HFV, he gave a we’re going to be by ourselves. So that was the or domestic violence, in combination with the community and that was truly a reflection of the resounding “yes.” beginning.” threat of discrimination and abuse due to their residents and the wills of the residents, as well “I actually think Henry Ford Village Hahn is 65 and Ploegar is 80. They said that sexual orientation or gender identity,” the study as the board that is responsible for governance,” was already, if you look at the other senior finding a place where they could put down said. “In a 2006 study by Metlife Mature Market Sterling said. “Henry Ford is a not-for-profit communities in the Metro Detroit Area, way new roots among peers was valuable to them. Institute, 27 percent of LGBT Baby Boomers community so it is the board that ultimately on the forefront of being the most inclusive,” “As we age and without any family, we reported that they had great concern about has that responsibility. More profoundly, it’s he said. “If you walk through there, there is a actually do create our own family and what discrimination as they age.” the culture more than anything.” mix of white people, brown people and black makes Ed and I feel good about being here is And in a survey of over 400 LGB elders aged people and you can see they have [inclusive] that we’ve known that the family we will create 60 and older, 65 percent reported experiencing programs and outreach.” here as a couple will continue when that time Autonomy in Senior Living victimization due “to sexual orientation (e.g. Sterling has worked with HFV for over comes that either one of us will pass away,” verbal abuse, threat of violence, physical Sterling added that HFV residents are also 20 years.