Age Well Boulder County reports that the United States is experiencing an unprecedented demographic shift: the number of people over age 60 is expected to more than double between 2000 and 2030. Here in Boulder County, older adults will account for about 25% of the total county population by 2030, an increase from about 15% in 2012.
The Age Well Boulder County website summarizes the results of a four-year, countywide strategic plan completed this summer. “We held focus groups all over the county, representing a diversity of geographies and ethnicities,” says Nancy Grimes, LGBT Program Specialist of the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (BCAA) that led the initiative under the auspices of the Aging Services Foundation (ASF).
“As part of this effort, we also asked the LGBT community what their concerns are as they age. All told, we surveyed more than 200 older adults, as well as community leaders representing senior service providers.”
According to Grimes, 45,000 Boulder County residents are age 60 or older; and some 8,000 senior residents live alone. “In the LGBT community, national studies have shown that we’re twice as likely to live alone,” she says. As further reported in The Community Foundation’s recently-released TRENDS magazine, LGBT older adults are less likely than straight elders to have children to potentially look after and care for them as they age. “It’s all too easy for LGBT seniors to be isolated,” adds Grimes.
In response, the Age Well Boulder County strategic plan is focused on four so-called “quadrants”:
- Basic needs (e.g., housing, food, safety and access to essential services)
- Health and wellness (e.g., affordable fitness programs, preventive and palliative care, mental health care, etc.)
- Personal connections and community involvement (e.g., opportunities for social, civic, cultural, educational and volunteer engagement)
- Aging in the community (e.g., support, education and respite for family caregivers, etc.)
“Our agency provides services to all seniors, not just low-income seniors,” explains Grimes. “From caregiving supports to social supports, we encourage seniors – especially the LGBT community – to overcome their disinclination to seek out senior services.
“LGBT seniors have long been suspicious of government and faith-based communities because of real and perceived institutionalized rejection. So we’ve learned to develop our own networks among friends…but we’re all aging at the same ate, and we need more than each other.
“The community of senior service providers in Boulder County is very welcoming.”
Through the BCAA, Grimes also maintains a confidential list of self-identified “Rainbow Elders” to whom she disseminates monthly notices of activities and events; to be added to the list of some 300 LGBT residents age 60 and older, contact Grimes at 303.441.3583 or ngrimes@bouldercounty.org. Coming up – with a grant from The Community Foundation’s Open Door Fund – the BCAAA will host its 15th Annual Lavender Gala at Nissi’s on Dec. 6, 1-4 p.m.
Additional resource: Boulder County Help
Click on “Seniors and People with Disabilities” for a comprehensive directory of services, programs and resources.
As described in our recently released Boulder County TRENDS report, the BCAA offers services specifically designed for the LGBT community. These services were born in part after a 2004 project identified needs by LGBT older adults in Boulder County, just one of which was encountering some service providers that were not sensitive or supportive of that community.
To request a free TRENDS presentation to your board, staff, volunteers or faith community, get in touch with Erika Stutzman at Erika@commfound.org or 303-442-0436 x 130.
