AAHSA Future Age Jan/Feb10 - 21

may reject” such an option and that only a small segment may find it attractive. One example is a gay resident who wrote to the San Francisco Chronicle about living at San Francisco Towers, an ESC property, and commented that he and his partner of 50 years did not want to live in an exclusively LGBT community, preferring a diverse community that represented the kind of life they lived—filled with a variety of people from all walks of life. The couple appeared in a San Francisco Towers ad in 2007, and their story got picked up by a local radio station, which raised awareness of both the Towers and the issue. The couple received an award during gay pride month for being role models. San Francisco Towers has been intentional in marketing to the LGBT community since opening in 1997. “We have received lots of positive feedback from members of the LGBT community thanking us for our outreach,” says Director of Marketing Kate Hoepke, who runs a monthly ad in a local LGBT newspaper. She believes this and other outreach efforts have benefited ESC, making it a provider of choice for elders as a whole, including LGBT seniors. Selma Burkhom discovered San Francisco Towers through an ad and has lived there for two years. She had looked at many retirement communities and crossed off her list any that were exclusively LGBT or were evasive when she asked questions regarding sexual orientation. Kate Heopke, she said, was “forthcoming and very appealing” in answering her questions. At the Towers, Burkhom says, “Everyone is extraordinarily convivial and civilized, and I have not met with any overt or covert sanction. The staff is also extraordinarily trained.” She, too, has allowed her picture to be used in marketing materials. Heopke says the ads have prompted compliments and calls not only from prospective residents but from LGBT family members who are interested in having their parents live there.

San Francisco Towers

Jack Bird (left) and his partner of 50 years, John Darby, were among the first residents at San Francisco Towers when it opened in 1997. Though San Francisco Towers is intentional in marketing to the LGBT community, it is not an exclusively LGBT community, a fact that Bird and Darby value. The couple has appeared in San Francisco Towers advertisements and on radio programs.

Resources
The Methodist Home of D.C., Washington, D.C. Contact: Sandy Douglass, CEO, sdouglass@methodisthomeofdc.org or (202) 966-7623. Episcopal Senior Communities, Walnut Creek, Calif. Contact: Kevin Gerber, president, kgerber@ehf.org or (925) 956-7400. Kendal at Oberlin, Oberlin, Ohio Contact: Barbara Thomas, CEO, bthomas@kao.kendal.org or (440) 775-0094. AAHSA Annual Meeting Presentations Several sessions at the 2009 AAHSA Annual Meeting covered LGBT issues. Click here to order audio recordings of the sessions. • Fostering Cultural Competence in Aging Services (session 42-A) • Transgender Elders: What Aging-Services Providers Need to Know (session 141-C) • Making the Case for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Inclusion (session 76-F) Forge Transgender Aging Network, Milwaukee, Wis. LGBT Aging Project, Boston, Mass. HHS National Resource Center In October, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to create, via the Administration on Aging (AoA), a national resource center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders. The new Resource Center for LGBT Elders will provide information, assistance and resources for both LGBT organizations and mainstream aging services providers at the state and community level to assist them in the development and provision of culturally sensitive supports and services. The LGBT Center will also be available to educate the LGBT community about the importance of planning ahead for future long-term care needs. The funding announcement for the Resource Center is here.

A Welcoming Culture Robert Taylor and his partner moved to Kendal at Oberlin in Ohio after living for many years on the coast of Maine. They were drawn by Kendal’s setting, amenities and access to the town and local univer-

futureAge | January/February 2010

AAHSA Future Age Jan/Feb10

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