In 2021, Stephen Ostrow was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his work in advancing LGBTQ rights.
In a recent piece by QNews they mention his work with ACON and the Mature Aged Gays network.
“Once AIDS came in, I became a volunteer operator on the hotline for ACON, the AIDS Council of NSW,” he recalled in 2013.
As part of that community work, Ostrow was tasked with identifying the needs and concerns of gay men over 40.
“Most of the health campaigns back then focused on young men, telling them ‘wear a condom, wear a condom,’” he said.
“However what [the men over 40 were more concerned about] was isolation, loneliness, estrangement from family and loss of partners.
“I decided to found the group Mature Age Gays in 1991 to help people holistically.
“We’re the largest organisation in Australia – and the largest in the world – supporting mature age gay men.””
The staff at Pride In Health + Wellbeing’s member service St Luke’s recently put together this response from Steve on his award.
Congratulations Steve and St Luke’s for supporing him.