They are able to age in place in a safe environment and also have access to services they need.
By Christiana Lilly
Freelance Writer
David Kilmnick knew an LGBTQ retirement community was needed when reaching out to elder facilities for educational programs.
The founder and president of the LGBT Network on Long Island, New York, he recalls a facility telling him “we have none of those here,” referring to LGBTQ people.
“I’m not talking this was 50 years ago or 20 years ago,” he says. “This was like five years ago.”
In September 2021, Kilmnick and his nonprofit opened the doors to The LGBT Network’s LGBT/LGBT Friendly Senior Housing, a 75-unit affordable housing community for LGBTQ+ elders. Here, residents can live out and proud with their partners and participate in programming at the 8,000-square-foot community center.
It’s a part of a growing response to the needs of the community, one where many grew up closeted and discriminated against, but also to see positive changes like marriage equality and a more welcoming society.
“It’s incumbent on us in the LGBT social service field to make sure that we create these safe and inclusive housing facilities so LGBTQ seniors and elders could age gracefully and be out and proud,” Kilmnick says.
