Welcome to “The Purple Jacket“
“The Purple Jacket“ focus is LGBT Seniors and the struggle of aging in a straight society. The issues are beyond reproach and need to be discussed in an open forum to educate and to foster change in our society.
Some might say…”We’ll just what are the issues and what makes LGBT Health and Aging issues different?” Those are the exact questions and answers we will be pursuing as we move forward with “The Purple Jacket.“ Our readers will be surprised to learn how many LGBT Seniors are alone, who live in fear, who are in poor health and who are too afraid to ask for assistance.
The issues surrounding LGBT seniors and their health are too enormous to go left unattended. As someone who is in ‘the trenches’ as a care giver for my partner, I have a keen sense of understanding of what are the differences and why it is important to discuss these issues with the entire community. “The Purple Jacket“ will explore and expand on those issues because “it is our hope that lets us withstand problems; it is our beliefs that let us find solutions.”
“The Purple Jacket“ will focus on the care giving needs for the LGBT senior community. While society norms are (slowly) changing, many LGBT senior today are still living in fear, living in solitude, or afraid to reach out for help because of the fear and discrimination that they experienced when they grew up. However with programs like SAGE USA, The National Research Center on LGBT Aging : SunServe Social Service’s Noble A. McArtor Adult Day Care Center just to name a few, heighten the awareness of this critical issue in our society which will help foster change.
“The Purple Jacket“ will focus on living life in a calm and peaceful way. It will focus on the person and about how LGBT (all) Seniors can live a full life on their own terms. The conversations will often include discussion of our personal networks of family and friends. These conversations will often be about developing long-lasting relationships based on honesty, sincerity and personal integrity consistent with our values.
In “The Purple Jacket,” we will often talk about the role of the caregiver in maintaining the independence, dignity and quality of life for LGBT Seniors. We will discuss how the caregiver can be a more effective advocate and will deliver information that every Senior, caregiver and family needs to know when discussing these issues. The blog will also discuss how fellowship, the community and even the arts assisted me with my life changing event.
In the end, “The Purple Jacket” we will share our experiences and insights as LGBT caregivers, how to access all the needed services and how to age successfully in a straight society. It is through our dialogue and discussion that we will foster change, bring awareness to these issues, while gaining support and encouragement from each other.
You might ask why ”The Purple Jacket“
“The Purple Jacket“ signifies a time in my life that was… and still is…”a life changing event.” We have all had life changing events. Those events often forged from a life crisis are the types of events that fundamentally change our outlook on life and cause us to pause and reflect on our true values. At the time, these life changing event are or can be extremely traumatic. However, these events test our values and often have a cathartic or cleansing effect whereby we emerge from these events stronger and more focused on our values.
My life changing event came when I became a caregiver for my close friend Fr. Richard Orlando. My experiences as a caregiver for Fr. Richard Orlando caused me to review and reconsider what it means to live and die with dignity. ”Just as we can’t do life alone, we can’t do death alone either.” This photo is his last Outing at Butterfly World with the staff and members of the Noble A. McArtor Adult Day Care Center in Ft. Lauderdale. The dedicated staff at the Noble A. McArtor Adult Day Care definitely eased the pain associated my life changing event by empowering Fr. Richard Orlando to live his last days with great humor, peace and dignity.
You will not be inundated with mundane statistics, but we will use them from time to time to demonstrate need and to foster change. Yet “The Purple Jacket“ will focus on every day issues LGBT (all) care givers face and the need to develop honest relationships and a holistic approach to good health and spirituality in order to allow us to grow old gracefully.
I am happy to have you share in this journey and hope that you regularly return to read and post on “The Purple Jacket.”
Keep in touch with me at Chris@thepurplejacket.com
Best wishes,
Chris
