PGN hosted its inaugural LGBTQ+ Senior Summit last year to commemorate 10 years of John C. Anderson Apartments, Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ affirming senior living center. The event is returning on Feb. 20 to connect attendees with senior care resources and services, address current issues facing the city’s older adults, and offer solutions tailored to the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
Honorees at this year’s event include The Elder Initiative at William Way LGBT Community Center with an award accepted by Ed Miller, the program’s coordinator. Two local seniors who have been advocates for the LGBTQ+ community within the apartment building and beyond its walls — Mary Groce and Suz Atlas — will also be recognized.
The Elder Initiative, which is run by William Way today, was initially two separate programs. The LGBT Elder Initiative, the program’s namesake, launched in 2010 to develop relationships with the state while William Way hosted community-based programs for LGBTQ+ older adults and those affected by HIV. The two merged ten years later as a way to streamline access to resources by creating one central hub.
Miller explained that William Way now has a strong partnership with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) — which has helped the Elder Initiative access funding and also provide training to regional senior centers, increasing access to safe and affirming places outside the city. PCA also conducts surveys and outreach to LGBTQ+ older adults to give this population a stronger voice and better determine what services and programs would improve their lives.
Miller said he “fell in love” with seniors while volunteering at William Way’s front desk because they were fun but also honest and never held back their thoughts and ideas. Miller, who is now 65, spent many years in the closet when he worked in the banking industry because it was not safe enough to come out — but he didn’t realize so many disparities continue to affect LGBTQ+ people as they age until he started this job.
As of 2021, approximately 36,000 of Pennsylvania’s older adults identified as LGBTQ+ — and many face prejudices and misunderstanding when seeking community or housing. Miller said people share stories about what they’ve encountered when attempting to connect with other older people in local communities — underlining that this disconnection can cause intense loneliness as chosen families are reduced after loss and a lack of fulfillment with too much idle time in retirement.
LGBTQ+ older adults also face limited choices for affirming and competent healthcare. Miller said one of his goals as an advocate is to make sure professionals who provide services or programs to LGBTQ+ seniors “step it up” to ensure recipients feel more welcome, comfortable and authentic as they participate in offerings.
The Elder Initiative hired a social engagement coordinator, Kyle Macklin, about a year ago — who Miller said has brought some fresh ideas into the mix. Offerings include support groups for people with a range of needs and experiences, intergenerational programming in partnership with The Attic Youth Center and local universities, regular social events, and more.
“Standing back and looking at the conversations that go on — ” Miller said about observing an intergenerational event recently. “It didn’t matter what people looked like or how old they were. It was just knowing that we have things in common.”
Miller emphasized that despite unfortunate mistreatment and misperceptions about older people, LGBTQ+ seniors have immense value both to the queer community and as individuals who have wisdom to share. He encourages younger people interested in those intergenerational connections to become volunteers.
Some of the Elder Initiative’s programs meet at the John C. Anderson Apartments now. The housing project, which has been replicated in 20 cities across the country, was the first to specifically provide affordable housing to LGBTQ+ older adults. Groce and Atlas are just one of two couples living there today.
“When we moved here, we really didn’t know anyone and we were so welcomed into this building by other lesbians and gay men,” said Atlas. “But it became obvious to Mary that we all needed something to gather ‘round — like the old country stove.”
That birthed the idea to launch a newsletter, which Groce developed with John James — a co-resident who marched as part of the Annual Reminders, worked as a journalist and is an HIV/AIDS expert. He taught her how to put together a publication and helped to recruit about a dozen writers to contribute to the periodical.
The newsletter includes recipes, reviews of local eateries, information about upcoming events and happenings, birthday greetings and other announcements — but it also includes writing that makes it feel more like a literary magazine or community newspaper: poetry, opinion pieces, advice columns, and personal essays. Recently, book recommendations for justice-oriented learning were also added.
The first issue was published in 2018 — but the publication became especially meaningful during the height of the pandemic, keeping residents connected in otherwise extremely isolating and frightening conditions. It also connects LGBTQ+ older adults to the community at-large.
“It has given us an in to so many different activists,” Atlas said, explaining that she values the opportunities that have emerged from distributing it to wider audiences beyond the apartment complex — including new relationships with younger generations.
Atlas and Groce were surprised that some young people they’ve met lack a firm understanding of historical discrimination against queer people. For instance, Groce was previously “kicked back into the closet for a while” throughout a custody battle she faced during a notoriously anti-equality administration. Other lesbians at the time lost custody of their kids when they came out — so Groce pretended to be straight to retain rights to raise her own child.
“It was very isolating,” she said. “And we didn’t have the support system we have now.”
She didn’t come out for 20 years following that trauma and met Atlas in 1994 at a support group for lesbians who were beginning that process.
“It helped change our lives that there were resources by then and some of the people we’ve met here were ones that helped make that happen,” Groce said about meeting residents who made an impact on LGBTQ+ progress.
Groce has always been inspired by those early activists and a biography section in the newsletter now helps them share their untold stories and celebrate their personal accomplishments.
“We really wanted to record their stories and honor what they did to make our lives easier but also get to know them and make a true community,” she said.
William Way’s John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives has included the periodicals in its collection — and the Smithsonian Institution is now doing the same. The National Museum of American History Archives Center has a copy of each edition.
“I was already excited to be in the William Way archives, but also to be in the Smithsonian is pretty special,” Groce said — noting that she hopes researchers will use the newsletters as a resource to learn the personal stories of LGBTQ+ elders, including what it was like to live through hardships and triumphs that span multiple decades.
“We are really glad to be here now and to be able to give back to the community and be the activists we didn’t get to be for so many years,” Groce said, underlining that both women were focused on survival during the years when not openly expressing their authenticity.
But now they’re LGBTQ+ advocates together. Some of their recent work includes helping younger people plan for aging and supporting them as they cope with uncertainties around safety. They participate in outreach events at local nursing homes and senior centers to combat prejudices, educate non-queer people about the experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults, and help people become better connected to their LGBTQ+ neighbors.
The newsletter in itself is its own form of advocacy. Although the John C. Anderson Apartments were built to primarily serve LGBTQ+ older adults, they are not reserved solely for LGBTQ+ residents — and not everyone who lives there has always been especially affirming. Groce believes the publication has helped those residents become more open-minded and move away from biased views.
The pair collaborated with William Way to create more opportunities for LGBTQ+ women, since one of their favorite programs aimed at LGBTQ+ older adults had narrowed in scope for a time to focus only on men.
Groce and Atlas both miss lesbian bars and having access to spaces that more specifically cater to queer women — an aspect of LGBTQ+ life in Philadelphia that pangs sapphics across generations. Atlas underlined that younger people are picking up the torch as they fight injustices and create new spaces for connection — but she doesn’t want anyone to forget that LGBTQ+ older adults are just as active and knowledgeable and can contribute to these efforts.
“I just feel like we are a resource here,” she emphasized. “There’s a lot of experience in this building.”