Supporting LGBTQ+ Seniors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, seniors have reported feelings of loneliness under shelter in place orders. Many seniors who identify as LGBTQ+ have experienced an even deeper level of isolation, according to Sylvia Vargas, Director of Community Engagement for Openhouse. 

Openhouse is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that works to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ seniors. Openhouse’s mission revolves around the belief that it is crucial to take care of queer and trans seniors as they age, and they offer a number of volunteer opportunities for community members to get involved in supporting our elders.

Before the pandemic hit, Openhouse offered a wide range of on-site programming to LGBTQ+ seniors. From yoga and meditation classes to cross-generational lunches to grief and loss groups, seniors had a place to go every week to spend time and make new friends. “Our case managers would meet one-on-one with folks that they’re supporting, or folks could come to a housing workshop,” Vargas said. “Folks would also come by sometimes to just hangout and chit chat.”

But in the wake of the pandemic, Vargas said that Openhouse staff had to quickly pivot their day-to-day operations while still supporting LGBTQ+ seniors under shelter in place circumstances. She said, “We couldn’t provide traditional services and support that we had on-site. The two things we were most concerned about were isolation and food security.”

Openhouse staff immediately got to work and began making calls to seniors they had recently served. Vargas recalled, “In the first 17 weeks, we made close to 5,500 calls to check-in, see how they were doing, and ask if there was anything Openhouse staff could do to help." Additionally, the organization transitioned on-site programming to take place on Zoom and they now offer a variety of virtual programs.

TurnOut volunteers have long been supporters of Openhouse, from serving seniors during the organization's Rainbow Lunches to delivering holiday care packages throughout the Bay Area.

“TurnOut has been helping us since even before the pandemic,” Vargas said. “They’re really an amazing community partner - I just put the call out and they’re on it. They just have a channel, a pipeline which allows them to respond to the call in a quick way.”

Openhouse’s work aims to ensure that no LGBTQ+ senior is left behind as they age, and it thrives on support from volunteers. Supporting our communities across all stages of life is more important than ever. Vargas said, “This is our way of letting them know that we see them, that they’re visible to us. And we will be able to reflect 20, 30, 40 years back and say our LGBTQ seniors were not left in this pandemic on their own."

If you’d like to help support LGBTQ+ seniors, there are many opportunities for you to lend a hand. Whether you’d like to deliver necessities, drop off care packages, or just have a conversation with a queer or trans elder, Openhouse welcomes volunteers with open arms. Sign up to volunteer with Openhouse here, or find all of TurnOut's latest volunteer opportunities on our website.