Supportive Communities for Gay Seniors

Developments are beginning to tap into the market for assisted living facilities and retirement communities for aging gays and lesbians.

1 minute read

February 20, 2004, 1:00 PM PST

By Connie Chung


At the "Palms of Manasota, the nation's first gay retirement community, sales agents can barely keep up with the demand....The development has emerged as a model for other efforts to tap into a lucrative slice of the aging baby boom market, estimated to be as large as 3 million." Looking for a support system in a neighborhood or a retirement community is important. One advocate contends that "[t]raditional senior housing can be foreboding, if not inhospitable, for gays....That support system is all the more vital for the aging, since many older gays and lesbians have strained relationships with their immediate families....And unlike straight seniors, they often have no adult children to turn to for help."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Monday, February 16, 2004 in The Boston Globe

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