Free event hosted by Equality Florida Action, Inc.; Services and Advocacy for Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender Elders; American Association of Retired Persons and The Equal Rights Center 

St. Petersburg, Fla. – February 23, 2016, Equality Florida Action, Inc.; Service and Advocacy for Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender Elders; American Association for Retired Persons and the Equal Rights Center, held a town hall discussing discrimination that LGBT seniors face. The town hall provided LGBT seniors and supporters with advocacy and empowerment tools to combat discrimination.

Town hall panelists included Serena Worthington, Director of National Field Initiatives for SAGE USA;  Jeff Johnson, State Director of AARP; Jason Palmer, Professor and Elder Law Expert from Stetson College of Law and Camille Brown, Fair Housing Coordinator of the ERC. Hannah Willard, Policy and Outreach Coordinator for EQFL, moderated the panel.

Worthington touched on the current LGBT national landscape, while Johnson followed up by discussing aging and local resources available to LGBT seniors. Similarly, Palmer discussed marriage equality implications and important legal documents LGBT seniors can utilize in areas such as healthcare. Finally, Brown led the discussion on equal opportunity housing for LGBT senior couples and spoke mostly on the Opening Doors report, released by the ERC in 2014.

“Thanks to partners like EQFL, the ERC has been able to conduct even greater national outreach. Through this discussion, we’ve been able to provide others with investigative tools to combat discrimination, something which we take great pride in. The ERC hopes to continue these kinds of engagements with partners like EQFL in the future.” said Ayris Scales, the ERC’s External Affairs Director.

“Equality Florida is proud to be partnering with these esteemed experts and organizations who serve the LGBT elder community. We must ensure that LGBT older adults do not have to go back into the closet in order to remain safe and healthy as they age, and that all LGBT Floridians are able to thrive throughout their lifetimes.” said Hannah Willard, Policy and Outreach Coordinator of EQFL.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.eqfl.org/OlderAdults/StPete

About the Equal Rights Center (www.equalrightscenter.org)
Originally formed in 1983, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) is a national non-profit civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. With members located in every state and the District of Columbia, the ERC works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and access to public accommodations and government services for all protected classes under federal, state, and local laws.