“It’s important that we get people trained and understanding us before we need it,” he said.

The response from caretakers is often confusion, the 68-year-old said.

“They say ‘We treat everyone the same, so it’s not an issue.’ Well, it is an issue. Others don’t have the same fear of being who they are found out, and being rejected and abused because of it.”

He recently addressed a staff of 60 at a 200-bed elderly care facility in Tucson. “I asked how many LGBT people are here. ‘We don’t have any,’ they said. I said, ‘Well, you do. That you don’t know is the problem, and that’s one of the reasons I’m here.’”

He doesn’t believe it’s willful ignorance.

“It’s the classical definition of now knowing,” says Bell, a retired lawyer. “To explain to them what the issues are, their eyes open. It’s something they hadn’t thought of before.”

When the training is complete, the facility is given a pink triangle door sticker indicating a sensitivity toward LGBT people.

“I tell you, if I had to go into an extended care facility and saw that on the door, my shoulders would drop. I would be much more relaxed.”