I was interviewed on 2 July, as a Rainbow Hub SA (RHSA) Committee Member, by Jo Laverty on ABC Radio Adelaide’s Afternoon Programme about a rainbow perspective on “The Care Squeeze”. In addition to caring for ageing parents and maybe children and or grandchildren, we also have a high rate of caring for peers who may not have biological family to call on or be estranged from them.

We were joined on air by Varo, CEO, SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance after a pre-recorded segment with Catalyst Foundation’s CEO Rosetta Rosa and LGBTIQA+ Communities Programs Officer Thomas Thom was played.

Discussion included the added stress of LGBTI+ people often being invisible in what are often complex health and care systems. The compounding effect / impact of extra layers of discrimination which has often resulted in less income and worse health outcomes also take their toll.

I referred to the Rainbow Horizons Project which developed a model to promote better planning for end of life and intergenerational support so that people don’t have to tackle these situations alone. This was a project completed when RHSA Committee Members were part of COTA SA and received funding from Office for Ageing Well, SA Health. It recommended that proactively resourcing LGBTI+ support organisations is an upfront investment that will save in the long term and contribute to better quality of life.

It was great to meet Jo and the team and be invited to come back in the future.