Like our mainstream counterparts, the LGBT community is experiencing the increasing impact of an aging population. However, existing programs and services appropriate for LGBT elders have nowhere near the capacity required to meet a burgeoning need.

To begin addressing this, Horizons Foundation, in partnership with The California Wellness Foundation, created a program called LGBT WISE: Working to Improve Services to Elders. LGBT WISE has three central goals:

• Improve access and services that support and improve the lives of LGBT elders
• Build regional capacity to meet the needs of LGBT elders
• Strengthen LGBT organizations to promote healthy aging among LGBT elders in Bay Area counties

Programs and services eligible for funding include those improving food and nutrition, access to health care, in-home support, and emotional/social support for elders. In addition to receiving funding and technical assistance, the LGBT WISE grantees also meet regularly to foster peer learning and create practical connections among different regions in the Bay Area.

• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006

LGBT WISE: Working to Improve Services for Elders is funded by a grant from The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF). Created in 1992 as an independent, private foundation, TCWF's mission is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education, and disease prevention.