Husbands John Mather and Ryan Maloney are the founders of North Beach LGBTQ+ & Friends, a social group serving the LGBTQ community of North Beach and Galt in Fort Lauderdale.
North Beach/Galt has a large LGBTQ community, mostly consisting of retired men and women over 55 who live in high rise buildings that dot the neighborhood. North Beach LGBTQ+ & Friends began when Mather and Mahoney persuaded the owners of Chez Vincent, a local wine bar, to host a happy hour for LGBTQ+ community members.
“What started as a monthly get-together quickly turned into a weekly gathering, and we just celebrated two years of North Beach hosting weekly happy hours with our friends at Chez Vincent,” the guys are proud to tell us.
They continued.
“Part of what we have learned over the course of the last 2.5 years is that the weekly gatherings have become an important social part of many members' lives. It’s no secret that as we age, we become more invisible in society, in general. As LGBTQ+ members, it is even worse, because even within our own community, older members sometimes struggle to find their place. While the group largely remains social, we hope to strengthen the community aspect of the group by creating an online resource network through our website wherein we can reach out to one another when we have a specific need for advice or instruction or information.”
For more information about the group visit the website (northbeachlgbtqandfriends.org) or email
Homepage: OUT & PROUD 2024
