About Us

GSAGA is a collaborative effort of Atlanta’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and individuals or organizations supporting Atlanta’s elders. GSAGA is supported, in part, by the following agencies:

• Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative
• Georgia Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
• Georgia Institute on Aging
• The Rainbow Center

History

The GLBT Initiative began in 2001 through the efforts of Aging Atlanta, a partnership comprised of over 50 public, private and nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta area that worked to create an age-friendly community in the region. Led by the Atlanta Regional Commission, Aging Atlanta was a project of the Community Partnerships for Older Adults (CPFOA), a national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Recognizing that solutions must be developed by a diverse group of organizations and individuals within each community, ARC brought together professionals in the field of aging and other individuals who are concerned about the unique issues facing GLBT older adults. In its advisory role to ARC, the GLBT Senior Advisory Group worked to ensure that GLBT older adults have access to aging services and that the aging network in the Atlanta region engages all people.

The partnership between ARC and the GLBT Senior Advisory Group led to major accomplishments in the areas of outreach to GLBT seniors and training service providers. In addition to promoting information on topics such as estate planning and wills, the group held a series of three town hall meetings to engage the GLBT community to identify and address aging issues. In just one year’s time, the partnership conducted 15 Rainbow Trainings to allow service providers, planners, and leaders in the field of aging to increase their understanding and sensitivity to underserved populations and to improve the quality of services provided to GLBT older adults. To date, 294 professionals have received the training at conferences and workplaces, and recipient agencies include medical centers, senior centers, ombudsmen programs, home health agencies, non-profit organizations, and regional and state aging divisions.

Today, the GLBT Senior Advisory Group – now the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgendered Seniors Advocacy of Georgia (GSAGA) – continues to meet on a monthly basis and is committed to advocating for increased attention to the needs of GLBT older adults. GSAGA practices a multi-tiered approach for simultaneous outreach to providers who serve older adults, GLBT older adults, and community members who are invested in issues of GLBT aging.