The Need For Gay-Friendly Senior Housing

Gay seniors who want to age with like-minded people, or who worry about being mistreated in traditional senior housing developments, are helping to drive the trend.

According to an official with the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network, there are at least four gay-friendly senior housing developments in the United States and 21 more planned or under construction. Some are upscale, while others are affordable, the article said. However, because the projects under way can house only a fraction of the country's gay seniors, traditional senior facilities need to become more sensitive to gay residents, the network official said.

"...Even in the San Francisco Bay Area - one of the country's most liberal areas - gay, lesbian and transgender seniors frequently express similar worries about whether they will be able to age with dignity in a housing community that's respectful of their pasts, partners and stories.

Those concerns have long fueled dreams of building some place where the gay community could peacefully grow old. Now, after decades of snubs and false starts, the need and the market have happily collided, and gay elder communities have quietly begun to spring up internationally and around the country, in states from Florida to Arizona, North Carolina and California."

Thanks to Knowledgeplex