Green Hill signs equality pledge to protect LGBT elders from housing discrimination

Photo Courtesy of Green Hill
Garden State Equality health and wellness coordinator Benjamin Fisher tours Green Hill with Assistant Executive Director Judy Wittler.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Green Hill recently signed the Garden State Equality Pledge and Protect Sign-On to affirm its support to protect LGBT older adults from discrimination in housing and health care. Green Hill agrees that seniors have a right to use the facilities that match their gender identity and expression, according to a press release from the organization

“Signing the Garden State Equality Pledge and Protect was a privilege and we are excited to partner with Garden State Equality, the Equal Rights Center and SAGE to support the elder LGBT community,” Green Hill Executive Director and President Donna Lazartic said in the release. “As a continuum of care community, we have transformed every level of living to incorporate the principals of person-directed care, fostering individual self-determination and personal preferences. We look forward to providing a welcoming home and person-directed life and health care for our growing LGBT elder community.”

The Equal Rights Center performed housing tests on long-term care facilities in New Jersey and turned up multiple instance of discriminatory treatment,” a Garden State Equality representative said in the press release. The Pledge to Protect Sign-On includes additional area of protections for LGBT elders, including those listed in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and applicable state, local and federal nondiscrimination laws.