According to a recent study out of the U.K., "...aging gay men and women have a greater risk of loneliness than do heterosexuals...."
Further, '"[t]his pioneering research confirms what we already knew intuitively, that there are hundreds of thousands of lesbian and gay people growing older without the same family and support structures that many straight people enjoy," said Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall [a U.K. gay rights group]. "Quite often, that's because their own families have disowned them just because of the way they were born."'
With the number of baby boomers reaching old age now and over the next decades, many millions of gay and lesbian people will be alone, lonely, and in need of compassionate and understanding human contact and companionship. I sincerely hope younger gay and lesbian people will recognize how important and valuable older people are, and rally around them to provide the support and love they need.
(Quotes are from "Older Gays Have Higher Risk of Loneliness," by Andi Alexander, Advocate.com.)
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