"Opening Doors in Berkshire"
A conference highlighting the needs of older lesbians and gay men was held on Wednesday, 29th October, 2003 at Reading Town Hall
You can download a copy of the full conference report, or a shorter version without the presentations by the speakers.
This was a ground-breaking conference run by the Berkshire Older Lesbian and Gay Forum in partnership with Age Concern Berkshire. A report is being prepared, but in the meantime, here is an overview.
Delegates came from across Berkshire, and from as far afield as Gloucestershire, Brighton and Stockport. They represented social services, Age Concerns, the health service, and older lesbians and gay men themselves.
The conference was chaired by Penny Henrion, Director of Princess Royal Trust Carers Centre and Chair of Reading Primary Care Trust.
The conference was addressed by
- Dr Brian Heaphy, Nottingham Trent University, author of "The Social and Policy Implications of Non-Heterosexual Ageing"
- Elizabeth Price, joint author of "Out of the Shadows"
- Roger Newman of the Alzheimer's Society Gay and Lesbian Carers Network.
There were workshops on:
- residential care
- carers and caring
- language
- health and
- housing
and the day was rounded off by the Reading Gay Men's Chorus