LGBT Senior Services in Los Angeles
There are about 65,000 LGBT seniors living in Los Angeles, and the City of Angels is serious about caring for them. Los Angeles is home to the country’s first affordable, private-apartment LGBT housing community, complete with on-site services provided by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Another complex is set to open this May. And there are health, social, arts, and case-management services available from the Valley to West Hollywood.
A large and active LGBT senior community
L.A.’s LGBT seniors have a big pool of social and service resources to draw on. The umbrella organization for many of these programs is the Los Angeles LGBT Center. It’s the largest such organization in the world, and it operates six centers around the city. The LGBT Center coordinates dozens of social events every month to suit every taste: bingo, swing dance lessons, yoga, hiking, film screenings, and much more. Its Comunidad Latina 50 + program offers bilingual social events in Spanish and English.
The highlights of the center’s social calendar are the annual holiday party, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, and the Senior Prom that caps June Pride Week festivities. Prom-goers walk the red carpet, enjoy a catered dinner, and dance with the partners of their choice—something most of them were unable to do at their own high school proms.
Senior services that go beyond the basics
The center’s senior services are available to LGBT people age 50 and up. Besides its full slate of social and wellness activities, the center helps clients claim the benefits they’re entitled to, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and even Veterans Administration benefits. And the center can refer clients to other agencies for help with services it doesn’t provide.
Affordable LGBT senior living in the heart of Hollywood
The LGBT Center does offer assistance with one of the biggest issues facing LGBT elders: safe and affordable housing. The Center’s Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH) program worked with the City of Los Angeles and local developers to create the first affordable senior apartment complex for LGBT residents, Triangle Square. The chic complex opened in 2007 in the heart of Hollywood, just around the corner from the fabled intersection of Hollywood and Vine.
Triangle Square offers secure, LGBT-friendly living for low-income residents age 62 and up. The L.A. LGBT Center offers programming on site, and there are about 70 activities scheduled each month. Community features include a courtyard with a pool, a yoga and fitness studio, round-the-clock on-call maintenance services, and a pet-friendly policy. The Hollywood Farmers Market is held next door every Sunday, Trader Joe’s is the next block over, and the area is lined with shops and restaurants.
Another GLEH housing development, The Argyle, is scheduled to open in May. It’s located about a mile and a half east of Triangle Square, near the Hollywood/Western Metro station. The Argyle will have 40 units, onsite senior programming, and underground parking for residents.
Not surprisingly, the Arygle’s wait list is currently full. But GLEH’s Comprehensive Housing Care Program also offers referrals and support services for Los Angeles-area seniors who need LGBT-friendly, affordable housing, help at home, and health care. With so many resources available, L.A. is among the best places for LGBT senior living.
Learn more about Los Angeles Senior Living here:
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Find more assisted living in Los Angeles on SeniorAdvisor.com.