LGBT Older Adults: Chosen Family and Caregiving
By Nancy J. Knauer
In the United States, informal eldercare is principally the responsibility of younger relatives. Adult children perform the majority of eldercare and nonrelatives perform only fourteen percent of care. Caregiving in the LGBT community follows a very different pattern that reflects the importance of “chosen family” in the lives of LGBT older adults. Instead of relying on relatives, LGBT older adults largely care for each other. Relatives provide only eleven percent of all eldercare.
This article explores the high level of nonrelative caregiving in the LGBT community. It asks what motivates friends, neighbors, and community members to provide care for someone whom the law considers a legal stranger. It also asks what steps policymakers can take to facilitate and encourage this type of caregiving. Finally, it asks what lessons can be learned from LGBT older adults about the nature of both caregiving and community. As the aging population becomes more diverse, aging policies will have to become more inclusive to address the differing needs of various communities, including LGBT older adults. The potential lessons learned from the pattern of eldercare in the LGBT community, however, extend far beyond a simple commitment to diversity.
Source SSRN
