Bringing Social Support to LGBT Elders in a City-Funded Skilled Nursing Facility
by Patrick D. Hoctel
A special celebration was held on October 19, 2000, at Laguna Honda Hospital, San Francisco's 134-year-old city-funded skilled nursing facility. That date marked the second anniversary of the Rainbow Group, the monthly gathering of Laguna Honda's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents, most of whom are elders. The Rainbow Group is the brainchild of Charles Stinson, the openly gay chief of psychiatry at the hospital, and Ruth Morales, a lesbian social worker at a San Francisco nonprofit social services agency, New Leaf Outreach to Elders--formerly known as Gay and Lesbian Outreach to Elders (GLOE).
Morales remembers that "for about two to three years before we got asked to do the Rainbow Group, I had been picking up people from Laguna Honda for gloe's lunch bunches. The invitation came from Dr. Stinson. We came across as serving a special population, like Latinos or African-Americans. Stinson understood how gays and lesbians could be served by such a program."
Both Stinson and Victoria Cameron, an activity therapist at Laguna Honda who's openly lesbian, were thrilled when about 15 residents turned up for the group's first event, a 1998 Halloween party. Stinson recalls that some attendees thought that they were the only gay people at the facility and couldn't believe there were others. Cameron, who with New Leaf volunteer coordinator Eddie Waller plans each monthly soiree, smiles when she speaks of that inaugural party, which "was so damn fun. Everyone dressed up."
Over the past two years, the Rainbow Group has enjoyed spring flower-arranging, fall wreath-making, Valentine's Day festivities, Easter bonnet competitions, an outing to a local nature preserve, Pride Day parades, gay trivia bingo and high teas, plus plenty of costumes, decorations and refreshments. In contrast to that first October event, this year's Halloween extravaganza was held in Laguna Honda's Gerald Simon Theater, and counted approximately 150 people, about a quarter of them volunteers and entertainers, including local drag divas Carla Bassey and Nikki Starr.
The Rainbow Group shindigs usually draw between 35 and 40 of the hospital's lgbt residents. Many of them are wheelchair-bound, but as Cameron notes, "Our population runs the gamut, from nonverbally responsive to completely cognitively intact. All levels of dementia. All levels of physical ability. What we try to stress is our common bond as gay people. All you have to do is be lgbt or declare yourself a friend."
Cameron identifies the group's main purposes as "battling isolation" and enhancing "community identification," a view shared by New Leaf's Waller. "A lot of these people have been extremely isolated and closeted," Waller emphasizes, "especially at Laguna Honda. The fact that they're able to gather together and meet with other folks means a lot to them--that and the fact that people from the outside come in and still include them in the community."
'It's Laguna Heaven!'
Waller's sentiments are echoed by Ruth Morales, who adds that "we're providing the time and the place for an elder gay to be out and socialize, so they know that even though they're in Laguna Honda, they're in our community. I love the fact that after one of the first events, a resident proclaimed, 'This is no longer Laguna Honda; it's Laguna Heaven!'"
Another point on which all four women agree is the key role played by the dozen or so New Leaf volunteers who show up faithfully on the third Thursday of every month; without them, the Rainbow Group wouldn't exist. Laguna Honda is, for party-throwers at least, a bit of a logistical nightmare. The Spanish Revival structure, built in 1926 and home to approximately 1,200 residents, is both cavernous and labyrinthine. (Thanks to a city bond measure passed in 1999, however, the hallways that seem to go on for miles, large open wards and long wings, all spread out over several floors, will eventually be a thing of the past.)
The current facility sprawls over a 64-acre hill and boasts several smaller buildings in addition to the main one. Collecting all the residents and transporting them to wherever a particular party is being held--and then making sure that they get back safely--is a task that requires detailed lists, van schedules, cooperation from the staffs of various units, lots of coordination, supportive personnel and, especially, dedicated volunteers.
One such volunteer is the ebullient 77-year-old Romeo L'Heureux, whose high spirits and good cheer have made him popular with the residents. "It's simple," L'Heureux says. "I enjoy volunteering. When I'm helping people, I don't think of myself and my problems. It keeps me alert and healthy and young in my outlook."
This year, the Rainbow Group was included as a line item in the Laguna Honda budget for the first time, to the tune of $1,800, and the list of attendees keeps growing. However, Laguna Honda's Victoria Cameron and Kathleen Schwab and New Leaf's Eddie Waller have an even bigger wish list in mind.
"The events are wonderful," says Cameron, "but I'd like to see more volunteers, more one-on-one peer support." Schwab advocates for "little groups that would meet periodically throughout the month," which would facilitate "people becoming friends outside of the events themselves."
Waller's thinking runs along the same basic track: "I would like to see it keep expanding. With a population of 1,200 residents, you know there are more lgbt elders there."
Even if all these goals are achieved, Laguna Honda, with the myriad problems of a large state institution, will never be quite "Laguna Heaven." However, thanks to staff and New Leaf volunteers, it will be well on its way to providing a place where low-income lgbt elders can feel safe, welcomed and proud.
New Leaf Outreach to Elders, which is funded in part by the San Francisco Commission on Aging, can be reached at (415) 255-2937. Its free services for lgbt elders in San Francisco include "lunch bunch" meals for frail elders, a women writers group, a men's friendship group and a friendly visitors program for the homebound. Approximately 400 older adults regularly rely on New Leaf.
Patrick D. Hoctel is a graduate student in gerontology at San Francisco State University.
copyright © 2001 American Society on Aging; all rights reserved.
American Society on Aging
71 Stevenson St., Suite 1450
San Francisco, CA 94105-2938
www.asaging.org
info@asaging.org