1. Letter from the Chair
2. GRAI Membership
3. Annual Report Round-up
4. Collecting Stories
5. Queensland’s LGBTI Aged Care Packages
6. GRAI’s Pride Events

Welcome to the PRIDE GRAI newsletter. GRAI will have quite a presence at PRIDE, putting ageing in our community on the agenda. We have three great events – two community forums and the WA premier of the LGBTI film “Gen Silent”. We will also have a stall at Fair Day, so pop past to say hi. More details are inside this newsletter: they promise to be fun and I hope that our members can support these events.

Read more at GRAI MATTERS – Sept 2011

1. Letter from the Chair
2. A nice glass of red…
3. GRAI AGM and “Reaching Out” community forum
4. Gabi Rosenstreich
5. The Pinnacle Foundation
6. Loneliness among older LGB adults
7. Ready or not: HIV in Aged Care
8. Web Resources

Welcome to the latest GRAI newsletter. Your hard working board
has been working quietly in the background ensuring that LGBTI
ageing issues are advanced. This has included a short submission to
the Department of Health and Ageing on their Accreditation
Standards for residential aged care. There was no specific mention
of sexuality orientation or gender diversity yet other minority
groups were mentioned. Again there we were not the only players
to put this view and colleagues and organizations in other states
also wrote submissions.

Board member June Lowe and I had an informative meeting with
Senator Rachel Siewert about potential lobbying strategies to
advance the core concerns of GRAI. This was interesting as Rachel is
the Green‟s spokesperson for aging issues and she was able to
provide good insight into who are some of the key players that our
organization should be meeting with. We also discussed the likely
impact of the full recognition of same sex marriage and whether
when that happens, as surely it must, that this will have large flow
on effects for other LGBTI sectors.

We have been in discussion with ACON (AIDS Council of NSW), about
allowing the use of GRAI/Curtin University Best Practice Guidelines
developed last year as part of our research project, in a current
project ACON is undertaking. They received substantial funding
from the Department of Health and Ageing to roll out an LGBTI
awareness raising training program for staff in residential aged care
providers. Initially this is being undertaken as a pilot program.
Two issues closer to Perth are the forthcoming AGM and another call
about ideas on how GRAI might facilitate a visitor program.

Read more at GRAI MATTERS June 2011

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• Productivity Commission Inquiry
• GALFA’s first grant
• Just who I am
• Forum on End of Life Planning
• ACAR includes gay packages

GRAI MATTERS March 2011

The August GRAI AGM saw the farewell to three long-standing Board members—Steve Singer, who has been the secretary for quite a few years; Damian Douglas-Meyer, who has particularly been involved with maintaining the website; and Virginia Hailes, one of our community representatives representing Alzheimer’s WA, all finished their time on the Board. I thank them for all their hard work. Joining the Board is Deb Sinclair-Lane who works in aged care. At the Board’s first meeting following the AGM the following positions were confirmed: Chair – Jude Comfort, Treasurer/Membership Officer – Stuart Pekin, Secretary – Malcolm Fialho and Brett Tizard.

Recently the Pride WA Glammy Awards were held. These recognise contributions to Perth’s GLBTQI community and were presented at the Pride WA “MASKerade” Ball held at Novotel Langley Hotel on Saturday 28th August 2010. I was recognised by being awarded the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual or Couple award. I thank all those who supported my nomination.

We have also been busy with more requests to discuss the research project “We don’t have of those people here”. Recent presentations include to the Alzheimer’s Association conference “Many Voices”, and the 2010 Rural GBLT Health & Wellbeing Forum in Victoria.

Jude Comfort, Chair

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1. GRAI Pride event
2. More PRIDE offerings
3. Empowering older Australian women
4. Noelene Brown guest speaker
5. Global GLBTI survey

  GRAI MATTERS September 2010

“We hope that by opening the doors to an aged care facility that community members have an opportunity to start the conversation around aged care accommodation,” said GRAI Chair Jude Comfort. “In general the LGBT community is pretty youth focused. GRAI wants to challenge and educate our community on aged care issues with this unique Pride offering” she said.

So come and see inside such a facility and have some questions answered. This is not just for the senior members of our community but anyone. It could appeal to those who may be facing decisions about care for relatives etc. So join GRAI to visit. Look, question, challenge your stereotypes. Join us for delicious afternoon team and discussion of the recent GRAI research report “We don’t have any of those people here”. All ages, all welcome and it is free!!

Details
St Michael’s Residential Care
93 Wasley Street North Perth, 6006
Saturday 16 October 2010
2pm to 4pm

These will all available on our website www.grai.org.au from July 12. So please take a look or better still, come to the launch! (see next page for details).

GRAI operates as a member based organisation with an elected board. Our 2010 AGM is scheduled for Tuesday 17 August and will be held at the Freedom Centre in Brisbane Street starting at 6.00pm with refreshments.

All members are urged to attend – the AGM is always an opportunity for a pleasant get together as well as the business of the meeting. We are also seeking a couple more board members as we have several of our members retiring. Please do not be shy about self nominating or giving me a call to discuss what is involved (0422 654244). A warm welcome awaits you from the existing board.

One of our retiring board members will be Virginia Hailes who was a community representative on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association WA.

Virginia bought a great input to the board and especially was active in getting GLBTI issues on the agenda of Alzheimer’s Australia in WA. Alzheimer’s Australia also supported the board by providing us with a meeting place and we thank them for that. We also welcome a new board member, Brett Tizard.

We have recently done a new print run of our GRAI brochure and if any member would like some to put out at their work place, or share with friends etc, please email us (info@grai.com) and we will get some in the mail for you.

Wearing our advocacy hat, GRAI made a submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for its inquiry into planning options and services for people ageing with a disability. Thanks to board member June Lowe for work on this.

As always, your board is here to listen to your suggestions and remember, GRAI is your organisation – so get involved!

Jude Comfort, Chair

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• Research Launch
• Pennies from heaven
• Recent conferences
• Rainbow Vision
• Productivity Commission review
• Thoughts on the American situation
• Where will all the Queens go?

GRAI MATTERS July 2010

GRAI (Gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex Retirement Association Inc.) is delighted to invite you to the launch of the report “We don’t have any of those people here: Retirement accommodation and aged care issues for non-heterosexual populations” and best practice guidelines “Accommodating older gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex people”.

To be launched by Ambassador for Ageing Noeline Brown, and hosted by Verity James.

“We don’t have any of those people here” launch invite

Monday 12 July 2010, 5.30 – 7pm
Kingia Care Centre
5 Allen Court, Bentley, WA 6102

View Kingia in a larger map

RSVP to Rita Freijah by 2 July 2010
ritamon@iinet.net.au
Phone 0404 678 673

Although GRAI is a small member‐based organisation, we always seem to have more than enough to keep us busy – and 2010 will be no different.

GRAI’s social research grant is proceeding well (see later article). Look out for the launch of the final report and the best practice guidelines due out in the next few months. I am fortunate to be off to Sydney for the Health in Difference conference and then Melbourne to the International Federation of Ageing conference. I will be able to profile the work of GRAI and also be able to discuss a range of gay research issues nationally. It can sometimes feel a bit isolated working in WA but rest assured GRAI is highly regarded on the national gay ageing front.

Jude Comfort
Chair GRAI

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

GRAI MATTERS April 2010

GRAI also made a submission to the Senate inquiry.

Canberra Times: Concern as older gays hit by blues – Wednesday, December 30th, 2009