The SAGE campaign appears on bus shelters, phone kiosks, in subways and
in ‘AM New York,’ ‘Hoy’ and ‘The L Magazine’ though the end of December.
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By Dustin Fitzharris
Friday, November 07, 2008
While riding the subway or standing at a bus stop, you may have seen a new ad campaign featuring senior citizens and the tagline “there’s no expiration date for a full, active life.” The individuals appearing in the ads are not models—they are actual members, donors, staff and volunteers of SAGE.
SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders) is the world’s oldest and largest non-profit agency that addresses the needs of LGBT elders.
The $350,000 ad campaign, which will run through the end of the year, was made possible by a donation from the Calamus Foundation, a New York City-based foundation that provides grants to qualifying charitable organizations for programs and activities that promote well-being, social and legal rights, and services to individuals with HIV.
For the past couple of years SAGE has been discussing the need to do a public education campaign to increase the visibility of older LGBT people and to let others in the community know what SAGE is all about. Through its programs at their offices on Seventh Avenue, Harlem and at the LGBT Community Center, SAGE serves more than 2,000 people annually.
“We found that many people in the LGBT knew about SAGE but didn’t know about all the services that SAGE provides, including current clients and donors,” Stephanie Blackwood, co-founder and account director of Double Platinum, a gay and lesbian focused marketing that provided the look and feel of the campaign, said.
Famed “Rolling Stone” magazine photographer Janette Beckman, who’s known for photographs of Run DMC, The Police and The Clash, shot all of the images for the ads. All of the constituents represented in the ads are from the LGBT community. The staff featured are also from the LGBT community, but not everyone of them identifies as gay.
“The variety of people depicted in the ads carries the message that SAGE is not only a variety of purposes, but a variety of life,” David Rubeo, communications and marketing manager of SAGE, said.
In addition to subways and bus stops, SAGE ads can be spotted at phone kiosks and even gracing the pages of various LGBT and mainstream newspapers and magazines. The campaign also includes an 18-minute video, a four-minute video and very soon Double Platinum will finish production of two 30 second spots.
“The seniors involved in SAGE love the ads,” Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, said. “I think it brings a great deal of pride and one of the great things about SAGE is our constituents feel a sense of connection to the organization because it was created by them.”
In fact, each of the 10 ads contain the phrase “SAGE is,” and the constituents were asked what the organization means to them. Some answers included hope, family, creative and help. For Adams, SAGE is the future.
“If we’re lucky each of us is going to get to the point when we need SAGE because we’ve grown to that place in our lives and still want to be active within the community,” Adams said.
According to “Newsweek,” during the next 25 years, persons in America who are 65 and older are expected to grow from about 12 to 20 percent of the total population and various estimates indicate that LGBT individuals will make up 7 to 10 percent of the that senior population.
“Our work is to make sure our programs are always responsive to the next generation,” said Adams. “That’s complicated because one generation doesn’t disappear when another reaches their senior years.”
One change SAGE has seen is that boomers were coming of age during the time of Stonewall and gay liberation and won’t be so quick to go back in the closet to avoid discrimination in healthcare or within senior service centers.
“The group now is more comfortable and [they] feel more empowered,” Adams said. “I think we are going to see older advocates advocating for themselves in mainstream settings. Seniors will fight back and SAGE will be an ally to make sure they become a positive and successful force for change when they confront problems.”
There are only a handful of senior residential communities in the U.S. dedicated to the LGBT community and currently there are none within the New York area. The ones that do exist are mostly independent living situations. That brings about the question for seniors of who will care for them, Adams said.
In fact, the average senior in the United States lives with another person, while two thirds of LGBT seniors live alone. SAGE’s programs and services provide a safe and welcoming place to turn.
“For a couple of decades, at least, the vast majority of LGBT seniors are not going to have kids,” Adams said. “That makes a huge difference as people get older and become more frail and in need of support. SAGE’s need for caregiving will be the center of our work for quite a while to come.”
SAGE is currently planning for 2009; realizing the organization has a lot to build upon from its achievements of this year. In addition to the ad campaign, in Oct. SAGE held its fourth annual national conference. Over 600 people—many advocacy and service providers— attended. And for the first time AARP, one of America’s most powerful lobbying groups with over 40 million members, acted as the lead sponsor, proving LGBT seniors are becoming increasingly visible.
Adams said one of SAGE’s next goals include more cyber education. Not only does the organization realize the Internet helps combat social isolation, it’s also important for seniors who may not be able to get out to shop for food or to get medication.
The workplace is also something SAGE wants to tackle.
“With the economy the way it is and seniors living much longer, more and more want to continue working,” Adams said. “Some may want to leave their full-time jobs, but will still want to or have to work part-time. In 2009 SAGE’s response to that will be to get those individuals back into the workplace.”
To learn more about SAGE and to view images from the current ad campaign, visitsageusa.org
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