Dan Pierce: Local Action Hero
Rachael McGarry, HRC Family Project, June 25, 2008
The population of adults over the age of 65 is expected to double across the globe within the next 20 years. By 2030, nearly 71 million people in the United States alone will qualify to receive Social Security checks, pension plans and Medicare benefits. As more and more baby boomers reach the age of retirement in need of services ranging from housing to healthcare, Dan Pierce wonders, “Where will GLBT seniors turn for support?”
As one of the most marginalized populations in the United States, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors frequently encounter unique barriers as they struggle to find and gain access to suitable housing, quality healthcare and other supportive services. Forced to choose between maintaining open, authentic lives and encountering blatant homophobia and hostility, many GLBT seniors opt to conceal their sexual orientation or gender identity and return to a closeted existence during their elder years. “If you have a large population that is not as visible in general, then the needs of [that population] become invisible as well.”
Dan hopes to change that and bring issues concerning GLBT aging to the forefront. After coming out in Seattle, he moved to Portland, Ore., seven years ago in order to gauge his own retirement options. “I was in a state of semi-retirement and was looking for senior organizations regarding my future,” he explains. Expecting to require increased social and medical services as he aged, Dan attended a variety of informational meetings to learn more about the opportunities available to elderly GLBT individuals in the Portland area. “I started attending meetings,” he recalls. “I was looking for agencies that I could call on for support.” From these dialogues, one particular interaction sparked his “real involvement” in the GLBT community. As Dan puts it, “SHARE [Senior Housing and Retirement Enterprises] spoke to me.”
SHARE, a Portland-based nonprofit organization dedicated to developing affordable housing options for sexual minorities and their allies, works to affirm the needs of GLBT seniors throughout the Portland metropolitan area. “Having a place that is safe, clean and affordable to live your life out is really important,” Dan explains. Staying true to the mission of SHARE, he believes that all seniors deserve to live the entirety of their lives as they desire, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Drawing inspiration from the organization’s founding mothers, Evelyn Hall and Mary Beth Brindley, Dan works to ensure that these adults spend their elderly years in a safe, supportive environment free from fear or discrimination.
Of all the issues facing aging GLBT adults, housing continues to be one of the top concerns. “It’s been severely underfunded, both locally and nationally,” Dan declares. “Our seniors are invisible to most federal, state, county and city agencies.” Illustrating the need to increase the amount of affordable housing options, he states, “The population in Portland is increasing, and the amount of affordable housing is not keeping pace with the demand.” Many aging seniors find themselves without the significant financial means needed to survive in the current economic climate. “For the people without financial resources to weather the storm that’s coming about now,” Dan inquires, “who’s helping them?”
Right now, their options are limited. Despite an increase in the number of retirement facilities and housing options aimed at GLBT seniors in recent years, most of these units sell at prices that are out of range for the majority of older GLBT individuals. “There are a lot of market rate ones out there,” Dan concedes, “but not nearly as many affordable ones.” Unfortunately, few organizations acquire enough funding to move their proposals for affordable housing from concepts to development. Noting the lack of housing options for seniors with low to moderate incomes, Dan continues, “After you retire, you erode your savings.” Older adults forced to sell their homes are left facing the possibility of homelessness. “Rent is still such a large percentage of what someone on a fixed income is paying,” he states. “If you’re only living on Social Security, making $750 a month, you can imagine what kind of housing you could potentially be able to afford.” By providing them housing, “they don’t have to worry as much.”
As nearly 80 percent of older GLBT adults live alone, this population is at a significantly higher risk of living in poverty. Without the support of partners, children or other family members, many aging GLBT individuals also face isolation and despair. “It’s a singular lifestyle,” Dan explains. “They are without help.” Through SHARE, he hopes to bring GLBT elders together. “Development of a community is very important,” he says. “It’s having that connection to the larger community – our community. We are not alone.”
Currently, there is little guidance in place for GLBT seniors looking for affirming housing communities or care facilities. Working to fill that gap, SHARE compiled a survey in 2004 to assess the needs of the GLBT population in the Portland metropolitan area. After interviewing seniors, SHARE identified several areas of concern and created a plan to address these problems. The Housing Directory Project evaluates five particular aspects related to GLBT housing: in-house communications, staff policies, residential social activities, conflict resolution and financial policies. With the help of the volunteers, SHARE will create and publish an online directory of various housing options that are open and inclusive of GLBT seniors. “We are making this happen,” Dan enthuses.
SHARE hopes to build a 40-80 unit facility complete with a community center, modern kitchen facilities and an atrium. This facility will offer more than just affordable housing. “[It’s] about creating a welcoming community,” Dan enthuses. “It’s a great way to have people connect.” For the first time in their lives, many GLBT seniors “can knock on a neighbor’s door and know he/she has a basic understanding of the coming out process,” Dan explains. “To be able to have the social network to help support them in [their elder years] is very important.”
SHARE also intends to build a facility for seniors who require additional care. “There’s a greenhouse model that’s based on the adult foster home model but it’s twice the size,” Dan explains. While most of these facilities are limited to only five residents, this new facility would be able to house at least eleven. With a large home setting, this facility is intended to be communal in nature. He states, “There’s a whole other element of people who can use our services now.”
Dan hopes to shed light on this situation at upcoming conferences on aging, including SAGE’s Fourth National Conference in October of this year, of which HRC is a lead sponsor. “We want to take the model that we’re developing and make it available for other cities to take it on,” he explains. Knowing the importance of educating those outside the GLBT community about SHARE’s work, Dan hopes to engage leaders across the nation to develop affordable housing options for GLBT elders. “[Our seniors] are not able to be visible, to get out there and speak for themselves. They [need] to have a place at the table [when decisions are made] that affect them,” Dan explains. “[This model] is not just something that will benefit our community here [in Portland]. The larger community will benefit as well.”
Though there is still more work ahead, Dan finds strength in his connections with GLBT seniors in the community. “I’m working for a much greater cause, a much greater community than I see in front of me,” he says. “Knowing the struggles they’re going through helps motivate me each and every day.”
What started as a personal journey has grown into much more. “I love the thought of being able to help provide clean, safe, affordable housing for seniors,” Dan says. “I can’t think of anything that would be more worthwhile than that.”