Trips & Adventures – 29 November 2019

We attended an event “Pride in Caring – Celebrating Older LGBT+ People” from 10.00am to 2.00pm at the Elizabethan Suite in Bury Town Hall.

It was a day of celebrating older LGBT people with stalls, exhibitions, a workshop and a free lunch.

The day started with a couple of speeches from a Bury councillor and a gay man, in a relationship for 37 years, whose partner is quite frail and needs a lot of support. We then had a wander around the various stalls chatting to the staff.

There was an interesting workshop. Sadly, half of all LGBT people over 55 feel that their sexual orientation or gender identity has or will have a negative impact on getting older. As older LGBT people we have grown up in a world hostile to our identities, and the impact of discrimination is felt as we age. We may experience an increased reliance on services, isolation from family and community, and a need to renegotiate our identities within the wider LGBT communities.

We often experience specific health inequalities and care needs. Sexual orientation and age are not often discussed together, but sexual orientation is an important characteristic that is part of an individual’s identity throughout their life.

We also had a very nice buffet lunch and had time to chat in a relaxed atmosphere.