Two years ago, I published an interview with Robert Turner, founder of LGBTQ+ Parkinson’s Rainbow, a peer support group for LGBTQ+ people living with Parkinson’s disease and their loved ones (care partners). I recently caught up with Robert again, along with two other members of the group, John Hill and John Weimer, Jr. “The Johns,” as they are affectionately known in the community, met in 2009, and married in 2015.
Free Peer Support Group
The LGBTQ+ Parkinson’s Rainbow support group meets weekly on Zoom. “We can’t offer medical advice, but we offer friendship and mutual support,” said Turner. He recounted how two care partners discovered through the group that they were dealing with the same challenges in caring for their loved ones. They were excited to know that they were not alone, and to learn how someone else was dealing with it. In this way, the group members can share their lived experience and collective knowledge about living with and managing Parkinson’s disease.
The group is also a great resource for loved ones who understand the unique challenges of being care partners. After working for years in the tech industry, Weimer is now a full-time care partner for Hill. “Morning medical appointments are impossible,” said Weimer. “It takes a couple of hours to get ready” because of the physical symptoms of the disease, which can include muscle stiffness, slowed movement, loss of balance and coordination, among others. “If it weren’t for him,” Hill said of Weimer, “I’d be in a nursing home.”
The group’s Zoom meetings are not just for people in the New Orleans metro area; it’s open to any LGBTQ+ person living with Parkinson’s disease and/or their care partners. For information about joining the group, email ParkinsonsRainbow@gmail.com. You can also visit their new Facebook page at facebook.com/ParkinsonsRainbow.
Recognition for Group Members
In addition to his work for Parkinson’s Rainbow, Robert Turner has served for several years as an Ambassador for the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s, “a national non-profit organization focused on providing programs, education, and tools to help people with Parkinson’s disease live well today.” In this role, he is especially interested in continuing to offer support for other members of the LGBTQ+ community who are living with Parkinson’s. He will also volunteer again this year at Louisiana Walks for Parkinson’s on October 3.
Earlier this year, John Hill was honored with an induction into the Louisiana Political Museum’s Hall of Fame. Before his retirement, Hill spent decades reporting on local and state-wide politics in Louisiana. He also provided analysis of Louisiana’s political landscape in national outlets like USA Today. After retirement, he served as chair of Forum for Equality, a Louisiana LGBTQ+ human rights organization.
John Weimer, Jr. will be honored at Louisiana Walks for Parkinson’s with the 2026 Stephen J. Casamento Parkinson’s Care Partner Award. “I don’t know if I deserve it,” Weimer said. That’s not false humility; he recognizes that there are countless other care partners who have devoted themselves to making life easier for their loved ones with Parkinson’s disease. Turner says the Parkinson’s Rainbow group is adamant that Weimer is indeed an exceptional care partner. They have witnessed countless ways that Weimer cares for Hill twenty-four hours a day, including not leaving Hill’s bedside during four hospitalizations in 2025.
Louisiana Walks for Parkinson’s
Louisiana Walks for Parkinson’s is an annual fundraiser for the Parkinson’s Foundation, a national organization that “makes life better for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by improving care and advancing research toward a cure.” This year’s event will be on Saturday, October 3, at Lafreniere Park. Click here to register to participate, or to sponsor an individual or group. If you attend, be sure to stop by the LGBTQ+ Parkinson’s Rainbow and NOAGE outreach table.
