During most people’s lives, they may rent several apartments or houses and eventually buy a home. Some might even buy and sell several homes in their lifetimes with the help of a good realtor. However, everyone eventually becomes too old to maintain a home, and some make the choice to move into an elderly community. But for years, it was difficult for members of the LGBT community to find a welcoming senior citizen home. Some would simply outright reject older gay or lesbian people who wanted to move into these homes. Some would find they were ostracized by the other residents or had to hide their sexuality.
According to polls, services that assist the elderly, including housing services, are actually slower in accepting the LGBT community than others have been. This means that while there are a number of gay and lesbian realtors out there ready to help people find homes, it’s harder for the elderly to find senior care services and amenities like Sundial Assisted Living respite care and memory care centers that can provide a good senior living community life.
Today, though, a new trend has appeared: LGBT-friendly elderly housing communities are popping up across the country. Many of the people who have elected to move into these communities say they feel very welcomed and that the community feels like home. They love being around others who have shared some of their experiences and understand how they feel. They also say it’s nice to be able to be open about who they are and not fear alienating others because they let something slip about their orientation.
One of the biggest of these LGBT elderly communities is called Town Hall. This community is located in Chicago and promotes itself as a LGBT-friendly housing development. The people who created Town Hall also understand that the elderly are often on a very fixed income, and they offer the community’s one-bedroom apartments and studios for an affordable price complete with senior living floor plans. When the community opened, they had 79 apartments for rent. They received over 400 applicants.
The Town Hall isn’t the only elderly LGBT community to open. Similar developments have popped up in Philadelphia and Minneapolis. These two communities opened in late 2013, and like Town Hall, both had many more applicants than apartments. Other communities are planned for Los Angeles and San Francisco. All of these developments are aimed at LGBT people who are no longer able to live alone, but don’t have the money to afford the often-expensive assisted living communities.