ROCHESTER, N.Y. — According to the National Institute of Health, research has found that older adults in the LGBTQ+ community face systemic barriers to housing access, health care and social belonging.

After years of work, Rainbow Seniors ROC is celebrating the grand opening of its community center. It's a growing home for its members located on 346 North Goodman St. 

What You Need To Know

  • According to the National Institute of Health, research has found that older adults in the LGBTQ+ community face systemic barriers to housing access, healthcare and social belonging

  • After years of work, Rainbow Seniors ROC celebrates the grand opening of its community center, a growing home for its members located on 346 North Goodman St.

  • Rainbow Seniors ROC had begun through weekly zoom meetings, picnics and events

Aging is a part of life, but growing old is not something many people often talk about. 

“As we age, our friends and family, you know, may pass,” Rainbow Seniors ROC board president Beth Bloom said. “And we don't have those same connections.”

Beth Bloom is not alone when having these feelings. Some who identify as LGBTQ+ find it especially difficult. 

“A lot of older LGBTQ folks when they came out, they lost their families of origin,” Bloom said. “People turned their backs on their family members.” 

According to the National Institute of Health, research has found that older adults in the LGBTQ+ community face systemic barriers to housing access, health care and social belonging. 

“Fighting isolation as you age is critically important to your health and to the quality of their life,” Rainbow Seniors ROC board member Anne Tischer said. “Bess and I were activists all our lives. But this became our activism because it's a great unmet need. And you have to take care of people that you know are in your circle.”

Anne Tische and Bess Watts have been together for 32 years, sharing the love they have for each other with the community. Running the senior program at the Out Alliance for five years, COVID-19 had taken the organization under overnight. 

“Just when seniors needed help, you know, with socialization or, you know, just support,” Tischer said. “We decided to be our own nonprofit.”

Operating their current nonprofit, Rainbow Seniors ROC, the group had begun through weekly zoom meetings, picnics and events.

“I lost a partner some years ago, and, you know, there was nothing that really existed,” Bloom said. “So the idea that this was here, and connect with people was was very appealing.”

They are turning a safe space into a physical one.

After years of work, the organization celebrates the grand opening of its community center, a growing home for its members located on 346 North Goodman St. 

“We’re so lucky that we live in New York, where we have LGBTQ protections. And the best thing we can be is visible,” Rainbow Seniors ROC admin. Bess Watts said.

It’s all the more reason why the group’s mission is never ending. They are not allowing isolation to keep its peers who were brave enough to come out from going back in.

“There’s nothing that is as fulfilling and as protective as a strong community,” Tischer said. “And when you age, you need it. You can’t physically do the things that you need and that make your life worthwhile. But your friend can or somebody here will. So community is everything.”