My name is Dee Campbell-Tompkins. I am a Board member of the MSAC Metro North Chapter. I want to share my journey and offer information to seniors who might not know about The Aging Project, a “life line” for LGBTQ elders.
As I reflect upon my experience “coming out” and my identity formation as a lesbian in 1983, indeed it was lonely, but liberating process. However, I think I had it “easy”, in comparison to what my peers experienced in past decades. I feel fortunate to have witnessed more societal acceptance of what “flies in the face” of what I grew up to learn was normative.
Traveling upstream, what I perceived to be against the current, required tremendous persistence to be my authentic self! To navigate a personal journey but also a political, civil rights movement has been exhausting, yet exhilarating on many levels. Now in 2021, as a legally married person, thanks to the Goodrich decision in 2004, I am both amazed and thankful.
However, I know that Seniors older than I are members of, what has been coined “The Silent Generation”, with secret code phrases like “She’s a friend of Dorothy’s”, books such as “Odd Girls Out”,and experience in the proverbial “closet”.
The LGBTQIA+ Aging Project is so important to me because it serves to open minds, connect us to life-changing resources and engenders hope.
What do I expect to accomplish from sharing the LGBTQIA+ Aging Project with Members of the Mass Senior Action Council?
My hope is that you are more aware, you are able to make connections for yourself and/ or your friends/relatives, and that you experience a greater degree of insight and empathy. The “Personal is Political” is a common theme in our individual journey, as it is in our work on behalf of the Mass Senior Action Council!
To learn more about the LGTQIA+ Aging Project, Visit its website: https:// fenwayhealth.org/thefenwayinstitute/lgbtqiaagingproject
You may also visit its Facebook page (LGBTQIA+ Project) and/or contact:Lisa Krinsky, Director, 1-857- 313-6590, Lkrinsky@ fenwayhealth.org
Additional resources include: The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. For questions, referrals or group discussion, contact Dee: Dcampitup@comcast.net.