Seniors Out and Proud Executive Director Deb Hall said it’s a significant and nuanced category of seniors. Hall said there has been a lot of historical discrimination against LGBT people.

“Also, as we know, marriage equality didn’t always exist. And people are likely aging alone. LGBT seniors are about four times more likely to be aging alone and are two times more likely to have never had a family,” Hall told St. George News. “So we’ve never had children or grandchildren.”

Hall is passionate about working with the aging population. She has done senior work in many capacities. Hall has worked with the Alzheimer’s Association and various boards for seniors like the Utah Commission on Aging, the Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia council and the Department of Aging and Adult Services. She has also worked in hospice, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and memory care neighborhoods.

Initially, Hall was working for a national organization called SAGE, a service and advocacy for gay and lesbian elders. That organization was over 50 years old but then disbanded local chapters. So Hall decided to form the Seniors Loud and Proud group.

The Seniors Out and Proud website states, “Our goal is to reduce social isolation and loneliness, improve the health and well-being of older adults and empower them to lead meaningful and connected lives in which they are engaged and participating in the community.”

Due to historical discrimination, not being able to be partnered and being forced to be in the closet for much of their lives, Hall said many LGBTQ seniors can be lonely.

“Now they’re in their aging years and they’re lonely. And there’s a lot of social isolation, and those things actually increase risk for cognitive decline,” Hall said. “LGBT people are at a higher risk for cognitive decline, and they are also at a very high risk of suicidal idealization. So the suicide rate goes up.”

She added that the Baby Boomer generation is the only generation mostly aging alone. Currently, LGBTQ people can get married and have children.

Hall said the group’s mission is to re-imagine aging by empowering older adults to live life to the fullest potential guided by five pillars:

• Cherish the journey.
• Encourage the body.
• Inspire the mind.
• Nurture the spirit.
• Empower the future.

Hall wants people to embrace aging, “cherish the journey, encourage the body, inspire the mind, nurture the spirit and empower the future.”

Another way the group strives to help seniors’ minds is to help them stay active. Some activities include kayaking, E-bike rides, walking and movies.

“We want to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline by doing the things like exercise and healthy diets and mingling with people and having those things in their life on a day-to-day basis,” Hall said.

Another piece of the puzzle is to stay active by being spiritually fulfilled. Hall said that doesn’t always mean attending church; places like nature can be spiritual. The group sends out a newsletter that may list church services, but encourages seniors to get out in nature.

“We also want people to have a good spiritual journey, whatever that looks like to the individual,” she said. “So we’ll do things like a walking group and it can feed all of those pieces, all of those five pillars of our mission because they can have a journey while they’re walking around. Anytime you’re active you’re releasing those endorphins, you’re expanding your mind.”

Another issue some LGBTQ seniors may face is concern about moving into assisted living. Hall wrote a cultural competency training to give health care professionals insights.

“We want them to understand how to work with LGBT seniors because they’re different. Often, when an LGBT senior starts aging, they may have to go into assisted living and they’re terrified and go back in the closet,” Hall said. “So maybe they’ve lived life in the closet and they came out and had a great life. And then they go back in the closet because they’re so scared because they may have been forced into conversion therapy. Or they may have been abused, they may have lost jobs or they may have been kicked out of the military.”

There are chapters of Seniors Out and Proud in St. George, Ogden and Salt Lake City. For more information, visit their website or Facebook.