Senior Center Celebrates LGBTQIA+ Community
GenPride gives LGBTQIA+ seniors programming that addresses their pressing needs and wants
By Carly Dykes June 25, 2024
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Seattle magazine.
At GenPride, being seen is just the beginning.
In the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill, the organization champions the visibility and dignity of the city’s senior LGBTQIA+ community. Founded in 2016, GenPride was inspired by a University of Washington study that revealed challenges like social isolation, stigma, and difficulties accessing affirming health care for LGBTQIA+ seniors. GenPride is the first and only such senior community center in the Pacific Northwest.
Jamie Husmillo, GenPride’s director of engagement and development, says the senior queer community has many of the same challenges as all older Americans, including security, financial challenges, and loneliness. “There’s a lot of stigma around the queer elder community, including a lot of isolation and becoming invisible as they age,” Husmillo says. “So, we’re trying to transform what it’s like to age in the queer community.”
As Seattle commemorates the 50th anniversary of Pride this month, Husmillo reflects on the progress made by the community’s elders. “Our queer seniors are the trailblazers who lived through the last 50 years,” Husmillo says. “The rights and privileges we have today are largely due to their efforts.”
GenPride hosted this year’s Seattle Pride kickoff event, collaborating with MOHAI and Seattle Pride to present “Objects of Pride.” The exhibit, located in the GenPride Center, showcased memorabilia from Pride events over the past 50 years, sparking conversations about the community’s journey from the Stonewall riots in the 1960s, through the gay liberation movement of the 1970s, and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
“We need to remember why Pride exists — it’s not about marketing or corporations tokenizing the queer community,” Husmillo says. “It’s about asserting our existence and claiming the rights that belong to us.”
GenPride runs nearly 20 different programs and has more than 100 active members. In September, GenPride celebrated the opening of its first physical space in Capitol Hill, thanks to a partnership with Community Roots Housing.
The new space offers a variety of programs that bring people together, including a popular biweekly lunch. “It’s a great way to build community and find comfort in knowing you’re with people at similar stages in life,” Husmillo says.
To learn more about how GenPride is making a difference, or to join their programs if you are 55 or older, identify with the LGBTQIA+ community, and live in King County, visit genprideseattle.org.
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