Horizons Aging Summit

The Horizons of Aging Summit

The Horizons Aging Summit is a one-day event filled with engaging conversations and presentations focused on important aspects of well-being for those in the LGBTQ+ community.

This annual event views life and well-being from the perspective of the quality of our experiences and the things that give us satisfaction and fulfillment. A lineup of passionate, knowledgeable presenters cover physical and mental health, spiritual and social connections, resilience and developing a positive sense of self.

Here are some highlights from the event held on December 5, 2023. Watch this space for information about the next Horizons of Aging Summit.

2023 Horizons of Aging Summit

Well-Being: Thriving in a Chaotic World

The 2023 Horizons of Aging Summit looked at life and well-being from the perspective of the quality of our experiences and the things that give us satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment. The event offered attendees a day of engaging conversations and presentations focused on various aspects of well-being for those in the LGBTQ+ community. Presenters considered physical and mental health, spiritual and social connections, resilience and the positive sense of self.

Keynote Speakers:

Jacqueline Boyd brings passion and expertise to the field of aging and LGBTQ+ advocacy. A dynamic speaker, facilitator and entrepreneur, Jacqueline is the owner of The CarePlan, the country’s first LGBTQ+ centered care management and care development company. As part of The Care Plan’s leadership, Jacqueline has consulted with national and local organizations such as AARP, SAGE, Howard Brown Health Centers, and AIDS Foundation Chicago to enhances services offered to LGBTQ+ older adults.

Opening Keynote: LGBTQ+ Lessons of Triumph + Resilience
Afternoon Breakout Session: Take Pride In Your Aging

 

Jane Fleishman, PhD, MEd, MS, CSE, is an educator, writer, researcher, and author of The Stonewall Generation: LGBTQ Elders on Sex, Activism, and Aging. She is on a mission to promote the sexual wellness in older adults and co-hosts a regular podcast on sex and aging, Our Better Half. Her TEDx talk, Is It OK for Grandma to Have Sex? has reached over 80,000 viewers. Her new course, Sex After Sixty: Challenging Ageism One Sexual Pleasure at a Time, is available online. Currently, she is doing research and developing an online program specifically on LGBTQ+ elders’ sexuality. You can contact her at www.janefleishman.com.

Closing Keynote: The Stonewall Generation: Promoting LGBTQ+ Elders’ Sexual Wellness
Morning Breakout Session: Loving our Queer Aging Bodies

 

Agenda

10:00 – 10:15
Welcome

10:15 – 11:15
General Session: LGBTQ+ Lessons of Triumph + Resilience *
Jacqueline Boyd, CEO, The Care Plan

Taking a longer view of history, Jacqueline will home in on what can be gleaned from those
who came before and on whose shoulders we stand. Modern day LGBTQ+ senior advocates like Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Cecilia Gentili, Tez Anderson and Marsha Wetzel will be lifted up as examples. Key strategies will include lessons from LGBTQ+ cultural lineage about how we care for each other in a world that wasn’t built for us. Co-housing and Golden Girls models, community supports and unexpected caregivers, as well as other long-term survival strategies will be discussed.

11:15 – 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:15 Breakouts1A: Loving our Queer Aging Bodies – Dr. Jane Fleishman

What does aging mean for us as LGBTQ+ older adults? Many of us are critical of our bodies. And it affects us sexually. For all of us who have ever felt too fat, too short, too dark, too light, too curly, too straight, too queer, too nappy, too tall, too small breasted, too big assed, too big a belly, too ANYTHING – your body is beautiful. Join Dr. Jane Fleishman as we talk about loving our bodies as we age. She’ll give practical tips, recommendations, and resources that can help you start loving your queer aging body today.

1B: Sound Therapy Experience – Miranda Moon

In this session you will learn about the roots of sound therapy and then you will participate in a 30-minute sound therapy experience.

12:15 – 1:15 Lunch (Box lunch included with registration)

1:15 – 2:15 Breakouts

2A: Take Pride in Your Aging – Jacqueline Boyd

Focusing on the unique opportunities to age well as an LGBTQ+ person, Jacqueline will offer reflections on the changing terrain of the last 30 years with increased protections, longer life spans, and the evolution of the HIV epidemic as well as tips and strategies to age well. Key strategies will include decreasing loneliness, developing a strong medical and social support system and locating affirming resources in older age.

2B: LGBTQ+ Elders Working Recovery * – Richelle Frabotta, MSED, CSE, CSES; LGBTQ+ Health Initiatives Project Manager, Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County

What does it mean to be an older LGBTQ+ person in recovery, post covid, in 2023? How might decades of lived experience impact and influence a Q+ elder in recovery’s expectations of friends, family members and those providing supports? From the lived experience of the panelists who identify as in recovery, LGBTQ+ and other markers, we will explore how an aging impacts substance use, recovery and simply living life.

2:15 – 2:30 Break

2:30 – 3:30 Breakouts

3A: Aging with Agency: Healthcare Advice for LGBTQ+ Seniors – Dr. Todd Kepler, Senior Medical Director, Oak Street Health

Only 50% of older LGBTQ+ adults are confident that healthcare providers would “treat them with dignity and respect”. We will discuss owning your healthcare journey as you age, the importance of having and choosing the right provider, mental well-being, prevention and the broad topic of chronic disease management.

3B: LGBTQ+ Folx & Fam: Providing Culturally Aware and Informed Supports to Seniors and Those They Love * – Richelle Frabotta, MSED, CSE, CSES; LGBTQ+ Health Initiatives Project Manager, Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County

What does it mean to be an older LGBTQ+ person in 2023? How might their decades of lived experience impact and influence their expectations of those providing supports? As clinically trained helping professionals, in-home support providers, caring family members and people who care, we know that establishing rapport, building trust and creating an affirming relationship only enhance the elder’s wellness and well-being goals. Let’s explore co-creating safe, welcoming and inclusive services for LGBTQ+ identified older adults and their families.

3:30 – 3:45 Break

3:45 – 4:45 Closing General Session: The Stonewall Generation: Promoting LGBTQ+ Elders’ Sexual Wellness *
Jane Fleishman, PhD, MEd, MS, AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator

Older LGBTQ+ people do have sex. And if they aren’t having it, many are still thinking about it, longing for it and desiring some kind of intimacy and connection. Yet many clinical and administrative leaders feel ill-equipped to handle these situations. It’s time we take a wellness approach toward curious and consenting older adults who want to live full and complete sexual lives, especially in senior living communities. In this fast-paced and research-based session, Dr. Fleishman will provide resources, references and tips for creating an environment for sexual wellbeing for LGBTQ+ elders in your community.

4:45 – 5:00 Closing remarks

No one involved in the planning of this activity has a relevant relationship with an ineligible company.

Continuing Education Units
Application has been made to the Ohio Chemical Dependency Board and the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage & Family Therapist Board for up to 4 contact hours (sessions marked with *). Web site will be updated when continuing education options are confirmed.

Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC) is an approved provider of continuing education by the Ohio Nurses Association, an Ohio Board of Nursing Approver. (OBN-001-91)