Let’s be honest, unless you’re a Baby Boomer you don’t think about this issue. There are many senior citizens who are LGBTQIA+ and are in dire needs. They have gone through their entire lives in the closet, discriminated against, and abandoned by their families and friends.

It’s hard for someone from this age group to come out of the closet later in life and be accepted. They have seen what their peers have gone through and they didn’t feel that they could go through it too. Now they have crossed the threshold and are ready to live their lives as the men and women they truly are.

However, that fight is not easy. At this stage of their lives, there are new and different challenges that the youth of today will go through. The age discrimination is very real, add to that homophobia, and if that wasn’t enough, you have the family that disposes of them as old garbage.

With the loss of family, friends, and work, they end up suffering from depression. Life has no meaning anymore. What they worked so hard all of their lives is gone. Why? There is no answer, and there are many answers. It all depends on your perspective.

Imagine being in your golden years. You take a deep breath, you gather up the courage and you have to tell your wife and kids that you are gay — first, the disappointment of your wife. Followed by the lost love of your children, and lastly, your friends. They have all known you to be one person and all of a sudden you’re someone else.

What happens to them? To those who get kicked out of their own houses by their wives and kids? They’re fired from work with an excuse of company changes of policy. Let’s hire the young for cheap. This wisdom is forgotten. They are in dire need of some help. About 68% of senior citizens have nowhere to go.

Where do they go? Are there any resources to help Seniors Citizens who are LGBTQIA+? Yes. There are.

Services & Advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Elders (SAGE)

Services & Advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Elders (SAGE) is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources for LGBT older adults and their caregivers, advocates for public policy changes that address the needs of LGBT older people, and provides training for aging providers and LGBT organizations, largely through its National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. With offices in New York City, Washington, DC and Chicago, SAGE coordinates a growing network of 27 local SAGE affiliates in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

– See more at http://www.sageusa.org/about/index.cfm#sthash.IIlSq7Uq.dpuf