2025 wasn’t easy. Our community faced non-stop challenges, but together we turned resistance into results. Inspired by our elders, SAGE fought hard – and we won big for LGBTQ+ older folks and people aging with HIV. And YOU made it possible.
Here are the Top 10 victories we achieved together in 2025.
- SAGE fought against federal funding cuts. Represented by Democracy Forward, SAGE filed suit on January 28, 2025 against the Trump administration, for its freeze on federal grant disbursements. We were joined by the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, and Main Street Alliance. We and our fellow plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction against the administration. The case is currently making its way through the courts.
- SAGE fought for fair welcoming housing. We helped to convene a nationwide coalition to fight for the preservation of Equal Access Rule, a civil rights regulation, which ensures many housing and homeless services cannot be denied based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. SAGE also joined with fair housing groups and civil rights attorneys to oppose the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Office of Fair Housing.
- SAGE fought for people living with and vulnerable to HIV. We led the fight (organizing and submitting public comments) to remove the upper age limit (currently 64) in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’s HIV Screening Guidelines; met with Congress to highlight the importance of HIV funding and urge opposition to federal funding cuts; met with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advocate for the continuation and expansion of HIV and aging research; and raised public awareness by amplifying the voices of people aging with HIV and those vulnerable to HIV, through print media, published articles, and TV interviews.
- SAGE fought to defend the federal safety net. When the Trump administration proposed eliminating the Administration of Community Living (ACL), our federal department of aging and disability, we fought back! SAGE took swift action to lead the aging network’s opposition. We launched a national campaign urging constituents to contact their Members of Congress and advocate for the preservation of ACL’s funding, personnel, and programs. And when Congress voted on the President’s budget that included significant cuts to Medicaid, SAGE mobilized our elders and allies to call their Members of Congress and oppose any cuts. We partnered with Justice in Aging on a fact sheet exposing the costs of President Trump’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. We released a report with Justice in Aging on Supporting LGBTQ+ Older Adults’ Basic Needs. And we launched a campaign during Pride Month (on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook) to empower our community to call on their Members of Congress to protect Medicaid.
- SAGE fought back against the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights in the Courts. In November, the California Supreme Court issued a decision in a challenge to the state’s Long-term Care Bill of Rights. The Court upheld an important part of the law that barred the willful and repeated misgendering of long-term care residents. SAGE had partnered with Justice in Aging to file an amicus brief defending the law. And we joined a host of organizations including PFLAG in filing an amicus brief in Chiles v. Salazar, the conversion therapy case the Court heard earlier in 2025.
- SAGE engaged and listened to our elders of color. With the support of Pfizer, SAGE conducted six listening sessions with and for LGBTQ+ elders of color, in Florida, New York, Minnesota, and virtually, across the nation. We learned about the health challenges they face and we plan to turn our learnings into policy goals in 2026 in order to help disrupt inequitable health outcomes.
- SAGE fought to pass and secure Long Term Care (LTC) and Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) Bills of Rights. Following advocacy by Equality Connecticut and SAGE, the legislature passed and the Governor of Connecticut signed into law an LGBTQ+ and HIV LTC Bill of Rights. SAGE collaborated with our Minnesota partners to introduce the Minnesota LGBTQ+ and HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights—a first-in-the-nation legislation that would extend protections to LGBTQ+ community members and people living with HIV in both LTC and HCBS.
- SAGE fought for trans elders in NYC. SAGE won $275K in new funding from the NYC Council to support dedicated programing for trans and gender expansive elders throughout NYC.
- SAGE fought for the right to medical aid in dying. SAGE worked with Compassion & Choices to lend our voice to the fight for Medical Aid in Dying legislation in New York. Passed both Senate and Assembly; the Governor announced support for this legislation, will be signed into law later this month going into effect within 6 months of signing.
- SAGE fought for welcoming housing and supportive services for LGBTQ+ people in Colorado and California. SAGE partnered with advocates in Colorado to hold an LGBTQ+ Housing Town Hall to help ensure housing policy meets the need of LGBTQ+ individuals. SAGE partnered with advocates in California to pass AB 678, legislation that requires the Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordinate with LGBTQ+ communities to recommend policies and best practices for providing inclusive and culturally competent services to LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness.
After seeing these wins, imagine what’s next. If you’re inspired, share this post with your networks and invite them to join SAGE’s Action Squad. Together, we’ll make 2026 our strongest year yet.
