What We Learned - Aging with Pride: Building Inclusive Communities, 06.30.26
- Emily Trask
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
At Gray Panthers NYC's June Transformation Tuesday webinar, Aging with Pride: Building Inclusive Communities, our panel explored what it truly means to create communities where LGBTQ+ older adults can age with dignity, belonging, and support.
While Pride Month celebrates progress, our conversation was a reminder that many older LGBTQ+ adults continue to face unique challenges rooted in decades of discrimination, isolation, and barriers to care. Building inclusive communities means addressing not only these historic inequities but also preparing for the future with creativity, compassion, and intergenerational collaboration.
Here are some of our biggest takeaways.
Aging Is Different for LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Bill Gross, Chief Services Officer at SAGE, explained that while LGBTQ+ older adults share many of the same hopes and concerns as everyone else—maintaining health, finding purpose, navigating caregiving, and reflecting on their lives—they often do so without the traditional family support systems many people rely on.
Many LGBTQ+ elders are more likely to be single, child-free, and living alone. Rather than relying on adult children for care, many depend on friends and peers who are aging alongside them. This "horizontal caregiving" model has long been a strength of the LGBTQ+ community, but it also presents new challenges as everyone grows older together.
He also reminded us that today's LGBTQ+ elders came of age during a time when discrimination was embedded in many of the institutions meant to protect them. Until 1973, homosexuality was officially classified as a mental illness, leaving many older adults with lasting distrust of healthcare systems that still affects how they seek care today.
Housing Must Be About Community—Not Just Buildings
Paul Nagel, Executive Director of the Stonewall Community Development Corporation, challenged us to think differently about housing and long-term care.
His innovative Stonewall Bridge initiative recognizes that many LGBTQ+ older adults have no clear caregiving plan and worry about who will support them as they age. Survey results shared during the webinar revealed:
Only 15% of respondents felt confident someone would be there to care for them as they age.
75% said they would consider using the value of their home to help ensure future care.
82% would be open to sharing their home with a younger caregiver if it allowed them to age safely in place.
Rather than relying solely on traditional senior housing models, Stonewall Bridge envisions community-owned housing, intergenerational caregiving, and shared equity that allows older adults to age with dignity while creating opportunities for younger generations.
Perhaps the most important message: don't wait until you're in crisis to plan for the future.
Accessibility Means More Than Ramps
Kate Poppenhagen, a PhD student studying LGBTQ+ aging, shared how she worked with Cincinnati Pride organizers to make Pride celebrations more welcoming for older adults and people living with disabilities.
Together with community members, they created:
A Senior Zone designed by older adults themselves.
A Sensory Refresh Zone with cooling areas, quiet spaces, and sensory supports.
Accessibility Hubs with maps, interpreters, accessible changing facilities, and other accommodations.
But Kate challenged us to think even bigger.
Accessibility isn't simply removing physical barriers—it means ensuring people see themselves represented, welcomed, and included in the culture itself.
Her guiding principle resonated with everyone:
"Leave a space more accessible than you found it."
Intergenerational Relationships Are Essential
Throughout the discussion, one theme surfaced again and again: bringing generations together is one of the most powerful ways to combat ageism.
Whether through volunteer programs, activism, shared housing, or simply meaningful conversations, younger and older generations both have something to teach—and something to learn—from one another.
Participants discussed the importance of preserving LGBTQ+ history by creating opportunities for younger people to hear directly from those who lived it, while also giving older adults the chance to remain active, visible, and engaged in today's advocacy efforts.
As Gray Panthers founder Maggie Kuhn believed, "Age and Youth in Action" remains as relevant today as it was more than fifty years ago.
Inclusion Begins With Listening
One of the most powerful reminders came from the discussion itself. True inclusion means resisting the urge to speak for others. Instead, it means inviting people into the conversation, asking what they need, and trusting them to help design the solutions.
Whether we're talking about aging, disability, caregiving, housing, or LGBTQ+ inclusion, lasting change begins by listening first.
Looking Ahead
Creating communities where everyone can age with dignity requires more than good intentions. It demands thoughtful planning, accessible design, supportive policies, and meaningful relationships across generations.
The conversation reinforced that inclusion is never finished—it's something we build every day, together.
As we closed Pride Month, we were reminded that the fight against ageism and discrimination is inseparable from the broader fight for justice, visibility, and belonging for all people.
Because everyone deserves the opportunity to age with pride.
