Advocacy for the LGBTQ Community

LGBTQ people face additional challenges at the end of life. And yet few LGBTQ individuals have made advance directives or are aware of the potential need for a Hospital Visitation Authorization. Until recently, the partners of LGBTQ patients were routinely not allowed to participate in the medical treatment of their loved ones or even to visit them in Washington hospitals. The Washington Domestic Partnership Act will end that agony for qualifying couples, but it does not apply to every LGBTQ person in a relationship, carries no authority beyond Washington's borders, and does not eliminate the need for careful end-of-life planning.

C&C has a long record of advocacy in the LGBTQ community. We provide an atmosphere free from judgment where LGBTQ people can talk about, and come to terms with, the difficult issues surrounding death and dying. Unlike most end-of-life organizations, we are not a religious organization, nor do we promote one belief system. We honor all people as individuals, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, race, or any other category.

Resources

• C&C's LGBTQ End of Life Advice and Hospital Authorization brochure.
• Equal Rights Washington has an informative brochure about the Washington Domestic Partnership Law .
• The Seattle LGBT website for community resources for LGBTQ people. Note: Some information on this website may be outdated.
• The Rainbow Center located in Tacoma focuses on the South Sound region but have been succesful at helping people all over Washington State. They have a great new resource guide that can be downloaded.
• For legal issues, contact the LGBT Bar Association.
• If you need further resources, contact C&C.

C&C's Record of LGBTQ Advocacy

• C&C began providing client services in 1993, at the peak of the AIDS crisis, and many of C&C’s first clients were people with HIV/AIDS. One of C&C’s founders was Susan Dunshee, longtime director of the Dunshee House (formerly known as Seattle Aids Support Group).
• From the beginning, LGBTQ individuals have served on C&C’s staff, board, advisory committee, and client support team. Many of C&C’s board members and client support volunteers have deep roots in the LGBTQ community.
• In 2003, with support from the Pride Foundation, C&C created the LGBTQ End-of-Life Advice & Hospital Visitation Authorization brochure, the first brochure of its kind in the United States.
• C&C submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of equal marriage rights at the end of life for the 2005 Washington State Supreme Court gay marriage case, Anderson/Castle v. Washington. We will continue our efforts to expand rights at the end of life for LGBTQ people.
• C&C is a 2008 grant recipient of the Pride Foundation.