A new University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging finds that most LGBTQ+ older adults are not confident in the support they would receive as they age, specifically social support from organizations or resources in their communities, needed healthcare services and support from family and friends. Senior living communities can take steps to try to ensure that LGBTQ+ residents and their families feel welcomed and cared for, however, according to one expert. […]
Sadiya Abjani, SAGECare director of learning and instructional design, said that the poll most likely is an indicator of historical discrimination, including a lack of access, affordable and culturally competent healthcare, as well as the sheer history of mistreatment and criminalization of LGBTQ+ populations. All of those factors compound to create an experience where there is no assumption of goodwill, especially in the current political climate, she said.
Moving into a congregate care setting, such as an assisted living community, Abjani told McKnight’s Senior Living, can make it seem to some older adults that they will have to fight for their identity all over again or go back into the closet.
Click here to read more. This piece was originally published by McKnights Senior Living on June 8, 2026.
