When queer people with dementia forget parts of their own history, this can give rise to entirely new situations and feelings of uncertainty. Given the long history of persecution of gay and queer people also in Germany - which many of today’s older adults have experienced firsthand - this is a complex issue that requires knowledge and sensitivity. With the new publication “Dementia and Queer” from the German Alzheimer’s Association (DAlzG), a brochure in German language is now available for the first time that addresses the realities of life for queer people with dementia on a nationwide scale. This provides helpful support not only to LGBTIQA* individuals and their loved ones and their allies, but also to professionals working in counselling and care when dementia occurs.
Swen Staack, President of DAlzG, emphasises: “Queer people with dementia must not be pushed back into invisibility. They have the same right to dignity, understanding, and care that respects their life stories - and that is exactly what we are sending a clear message about with this brochure.”
The brochure originated from a project by the Dementia Competence Center in Schleswig-Holstein. Due to high demand from the field, it was revised in collaboration with the Competence Center and is now being published nationwide by the DAlzG in an updated version.
The brochure is available free of charge in print and as a PDF. Additionally, an audio version of the brochure in German is also available at www.deutsche-alzheimer.de/demenz-wissen/demenz-und-queer
The revision, and production of the brochure, as well as the audio version, were made possible by a grant from the Postcode Lottery Germany.
