Today’s LGBTQ seniors are the first generation to live out and proud, and they’re also the first generation to navigate living their golden years in this way.
The Residences at Equality Park, an affordable housing community for LGBTQ seniors, particularly those with disabilities, is in search of volunteers from the community to adopt a parent or grandparent.
“We celebrate the holidays, we do games, we do movies, but we don't really have staff so we count on volunteers,” said Roxana Guembes, a Program Coordinator with Carrfour Supportive Housing, the company that manages the Residences. “It would be great if we could have some volunteers from the community to come.”
According to Sage, an advocacy group for LGBQ elders, LGBTQ people 50 and older are twice as likely as their straight peers to live alone and four times less likely to have children. More than half receive care from a partner and 24% get care from a friend.
Many at The Residences are elders with disabilities, have lost touch with families, or whose partners passed away. These factors can lead to isolation and feeling less motivated to go out and make new friends.
When adopting a parent or grandparent, volunteers can make a schedule to stop by on a regular basis to talk, watch a movie, play card games, go for a walk, or even help with small chores around the house like vacuuming and washing the dishes.
Guembes notes that while they offer group activities — as well as the activities offered by The Pride Center on campus — some opt not to attend because they don’t want to go alone. Having a new friend to take them to a movie night, game night, or holiday party might be the push they need to socialize more.
Jose Chavarria, program director with Carrfour Supportive Housing, which manages The Residences at Equality Park, noted that residents are in need of a local support system.
“The reality is that a lot of them don’t have anyone,” he said. “They don’t have any support system, or they have really lost touch with family members; they haven’t spoken to family members in years due to challenges they had coming out and living their life.”
The LGBTQ community is known for stepping up for one another, and adopting a parent or grandparent through this program is a way to care for the community’s elders.
If you are interested in volunteering your time with an LGBTQ senior at The Residences at Equality Park, email Roxanna Guembes at
Correction
This story has been updated to make it clear The Pride Center is not involved in this program. Additionally, Roxanna Guembes works for Carrfour, not the Pride Center.
