VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
The Most Vulnerable Members
of the LGBTQ+ Community
Require More From Us
LGBTQ+ people with special needs
may encounter challenges that
diminish their capacity to lead healthy
lives. Within the LGBTQ+ community,
for instance, D/deaf LGBTQ+ people
often find that community events lack
interpretive services. LGBTQ+ persons
with disabilities may encounter health
care providers who are not culturally
competent, or worse, unwelcoming.
Older LGBTQ+ individuals, having
experienced a lifetime of stressors due
to bias, are more likely to be affected
by poverty or have unique counseling
needs. And as LGBTQ+ Baby Boomers
reach retirement age, they may find
a dearth of assisted living facilities
(ALFs) and nursing homes with
accepting environments. Florida’s
LGBTQ+ Puerto Rican community, the
fastest growing Latinx community
in the state, also faces challenges.
Driven to migrate following Hurricane
Maria, many still live in temporary
housing. Yet there has been no
funding for this group, nor data
collection to determine their needs.
An estimated
2.4 million LGBTQ+
Americans are
over the age of 65.
Approximately
1 in 3 LGBTQ+
adults identify as
having a disability.
Many members of society have special needs arising from disability,
natural disaster or aging. When those individuals are also LGBTQ+,
they may find themselves doubly marginalized—discriminated
against by society for their sexual orientation or gender identity, as
well as underserved or unacknowledged by LGBTQ+ peers.
WHAT MUST BE DONE:
1 2 3
Funding for LGBTQ+
organizations to
improve access for
the D/deaf by hiring
ASL interpreters and/
or providing real-time
captioning services.
Increased funding
to collect data on
the needs of the
LGBTQ+ Puerto Rican
community affected by
Hurricane Maria and
other natural disasters.
Adoption of laws
and policies similar
to California’s SB
219 (Bill of Rights
for LGBTQ+ Long-
Term Care Facility
Residents).
MORE
INFO:
LGBT+ Center Orlando
Therese Murphy
Therese@TheCenterOrlando.org
OAK Central
Ken Terrell
Ken@OakCentralFlorida.org
Orlando Gay Chorus
Brandon Martin
Brandon@OrlandoGayChorus.org
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