(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Michael Lamb – Echelon Magazine

Northern California Hosts First “Know Your Rights” Town Hall Meetings to Inform LGBT Community of Their New Benefit Eligibility

For the first time in its long history, the Social Security Administration is providing benefits to same sex married couples, thanks to the Supreme Court’s June 2013 Windsor ruling in the Defense of Marriage Act.  This is a significant development with important financial implications for millions of elder lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, same sex spouses, widows, and children of LGBT parents.

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation received a lead sponsorship grant from the Marin Community Foundation to support a Northern California educational program that is designed to provide vital outreach to the LGBT communities impacted by the Windsor decision. The program “Know Your Rights” is the first of its kind in the nation and a model for a national education campaign reaching millions of LGBT Americans coast to coast.  With additional support from the Sonoma County Health Department, these outreach programs will include panel discussions with the Social Security Administration, legal experts, and seniors’ and LGBT advocates.  The events will be held October 29-31 in Novato, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa, California.

 “The National Committee Foundation is proud to lead this campaign to educate millions of LGBT Americans about access to their earned Social Security benefits. It’s vital that we get the word out to the LGBT community so that they can begin the process of filing for benefits as the Social Security Administration finalizes its new regulations. For too long, the LGBT community has been treated as second-class citizens in the federal benefits system; however, that day is done and we are working hard to ensure America’s same sex couples know their rights.”…Carroll L. Estes, Ph.D., National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation Board Chair

The mission of the National Committee Foundation, founded in 2008, is to protect, promote, and ensure the financial security, health, and well being of current and future generations of older Americans through research, analysis, and public education. Previous successful Foundation projects include: Living Outside the Safety Net: LGBT Families and Social Security in partnership with the Human Rights Council, Patients Aware, educating Medicare beneficiaries about their new benefits through the Affordable Care Act, and the latest research report, “Chained CPI; Shackling America’s Economic Recovery.”  

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