Funds Available to Members of LGBT Community Who Are Caregivers

SPRINGFIELD — Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc. (GSSSI) is offering respite services for members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community who are caring for a frail or disabled partner, friend, or family member. The program is called You’re Not Alone, and it provides scholarships between $500 to $750 that enable unpaid caregivers to get a much-needed break from the stresses of providing daily care for an older or disabled loved one.

Scholarships may be used to provide care in the home, at an adult-day-care program, or in a skilled-nursing facility. There are no age restrictions for caregivers; however, care recipients must be 60 or younger and disabled and live within Greater Springfield Senior Services’ 12-community service area (Agawam, Brimfield, East Longmeadow, Hampden, Holland, Longmeadow, Monson, Palmer, Springfield, Wales, Wilbraham, and West Springfield).

For more information and an application, go to www.gsssi.org. or call (413) 781-8800, ext. 140. This mini-grant project is funded through the Massachusetts Lifespan Respite Coalition and the federal Administration on Community Living.

“Greater Springfield Senior Services programs are open to everyone, and we are pleased to provide this support to caregivers from the LGBT community,” said Karen Martin, Community Services director, noting that You’re Not Alone is modeled after GSSSI’s Family Caregiver Support Program, which empowers elders and caregivers by providing information, education, support, and services that improve the ability of the caregiver to meet the needs of the care recipient while taking care of themselves.