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 ‘Either those curtains go or I do.’
Oscar Wilde’s death-bed quip
prompted Dr Stephen Edwards to ask whether GLBTI people will be able to spend their last years in comfortable surroundings.
The shortage of aged-care beds and examples of persisting homophobia in
existing institutions has prompted yet another call for a GLBTI-specific
residential complex in Southern Tasmania, and this time things are happening.
An interest group is forming with the intention of establishing a charity to apply for a small number of federally-funded hostel and nursing home beds and to take advantage of the federal government offer of interest-free loans to new aged-care providers.
At a focus group in Hobart, arguments were raised for integration or even ‘rainbow wings’ in existing institutions. But the fear of sudden infirmity or gradual physical or mental decline, forcing those of us without independent means or strong support groups into nursing homes where our sexual identity is still generally hidden, made this idea unpopular. Ostracism from residents and staff, consequent isolation and depression, situations where visiting partners masquerade as family members – all these factors lent further support to building a specific complex.
The aging process and the nature of our inevitable decline and demise are things we would normally rather not dwell upon. But with an aging population, dementia is about to overtake heart disease and depression as the number one illness in Australia, affecting one in ten people over 65 years old and one in five over 80. With younger people leaving the state and the influx of the older "sea-changers", Tasmania is the state with the oldest average age.
In Australia, 15 per cent of over 55-year-olds live alone, as do 30 per cent of over 85-year-olds. Because of family and social ostracism, the GLBTI population is more prone to isolation. Six per cent of Australians older than 65 and 30 per cent over 85 live in residential care, excluding most retirement villages.
Given that the current system of aged care is overloaded, we would like the opportunity to run – staffed by and catering for the GLBTI community – a small-scale, residential aged care facility incorporating a supported independent living complex, possibly by refurbishing existing buildings.
The GLBTI community would like the right to decline and die with dignity amongst other GLBTI and GLBTI-friendly residents and staff.
By establishing a tax-free, not-for-profit charity with a board, we can augment government nursing home bed funding to ensure residents can enjoy a large, well-maintained garden with a circular path – an endless country walk for people with dementia – carpets and table linen, friendly staff with time to chat, access to sunshine, pets, an entertainment officer, a piano bar, a heated pool – hydrotherapy is very effective in terms of exercise and pain relief for arthritis sufferers and the disabled – massage, art classes, freshly squeezed juice and salads, a view and a sense of space, beauty and contemplation for our final days.
As Oscar Wilde said on his death bed, “Either those curtains go or I do.”
Anybody interested in joining a fledgling organisation for declining in style should email
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