Resident at Senior Facility Assaulted, Harassed for Being a Lesbian: Lawsuit

NILES, IL — A Niles senior living facility is being accused of not stopping residents from physically assaulting and verbally harassing a lesbian resident, the Niles Herald-Spectator reports.

Nonprofit civil rights organization Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court on behalf of the victim, Marsha Wetzel, against Glen Saint Andrew Living Community, the report stated. Wetzel has lived at the facility since November of 2014 after her longtime partner died and she was evicted from the home they shared in Skokie by her late partner's family, according to the report.

The lawsuit claims that Wetzel, 68, was injured and assaulted three times by other Glen Saint Andrews residents because she had a relationship with a woman, the report stated. It also alleges that residents used homophobic slurs, as well as threatened and intimidated her while she's lived at the facility, the report added.

Even though staffers witnessed incidents and Wetzel reported the harassment to administrators, the suit alleges no action was taken by the senior living community, the report stated. The lawsuit also accuses administrators of retaliating against Wetzel after she made her harassment complaints, the report added.

Wetzel's lawsuit is seeking to make the facility implement policies that protect its LGBT residents, the Herald-Spectator reports. It's also asking Glen Saint Andrews to pay damages for the stress and emotional pain she's suffered while living at the facility, the report added.

More via the Niles Herald-Speactator

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