Affinity Community Services Trailblazers Group (Affinity) and The Care Plan held a Caring is Our Love Language LGBTQ+ Care Fair October 12 at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago’s Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods.
This free event focused on Home Health, Palliative and Hospice Levels of Care; the ABCD’s of Medicare and Sex and Intimacy.
The Care Plan Owner Jacqueline Boyd and Affinity Trailblazers Phyllis Johnson (Board Member), Toi Williams (Trailblazers Peer Lead), Georgia Lacy and Carol Tolliver kicked off the event.
Boyd said there are over 65 million unpaid caregivers in the United States. She added that there are three parts of a person’s life journey in terms of their health care needs (independence, assistance and advanced). Boyd said LGBTQ+ people, Black people and women across all racial groups have “very different factors that impact our life expectancy and our health.” She noted that Black women do 41% more unpaid caregiving than any other group. LGBTQ+ people and especially Black queer women both age earlier and have more medical conditions due to an inability to pay for good health care access and the discrimination (includes sexism and racism) they face in health care settings.
In terms of people’s aging process, Boyd said it is “a gift.” She added that it is important to have advanced directives, bring in another person attend doctor’s appointments so they can take notes, and to make caregiver decisions ahead of any potential illness or aging issues.
Tolliver, who is a retired Certified Nursing Assistant, spoke about her current work as a caregiver and how meaningful it is. She said people need to show who they really are and not hide that they need caregivers to exist in the world.
Chicago Department of Family Support Services Deputy Commissioner of Senior Services Margaret Laraviere and Chicago Department of Family Support Services Community Living Specialist and Gerontologist Veronica Whitby-Cosey spoke about the ways their department assists people as they age.
Laraviere said there are over 500,000 elders in Chicago and their department “meets seniors where they are” with the services they provide.
Nancy’s Home Care’s Frances Newman said if you don’t have the heart to do this caregiving work then don’t do it. She added that they have elders doing caregiving for people younger than them. Newman said Nancy’s has a training center for new caregivers.
JourneyCare Home Health and Hospice’s Julie Norton spoke about the need for dignity when it comes to caregiving practices. She added that her company employs certified staff that does the skilled caregiving they offer. Norton stressed the importance of picking the right power of attorney, who will abide by the directives spelled out in the legal document, not someone who might let their emotions dictate the choices they make. She said her company is paid by Medicare to give families bereavement services.
Inclusive Funeral Care Co-Owner Brooke Benjamin said she started her company to “help human beings minimally dispose of a human body and maximally work with the family” to say goodbye to their loved ones in whatever way they deem necessary. She added that all of her clients have her cellphone number so she is also available outside business hours and they will take public aid cases. Benjamin said her company is a lower cost alternative to the funeral home system” because of their “very efficient business model.” She also noted that her company is the only out queer-owned funeral care entity in the state of Illinois.
Medicare Specialist David Rivers spoke about the ABCD’s of Medicare.
Within Me Coaching Owner Zipporah Jarmon and Onyx Medical Wellness Founder Maya Green, M.D. provided various tools that people can utilize to navigate sex and intimacy as they age.
Beverly Arts Center Managing Director Lucy Shumpert Brewster also spoke.