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Being queer in the golden years

From legal services and housing support, to crisis care and end-of-life planning, Queer Aging BC serves 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors with specialized assistance

August 6, 2026

After decades of fighting to be seen and accepted, many queer seniors are facing a new challenge: aging in a system that often wasn’t built with them in mind.

Dr. Indira Riadi is working to change that as the new executive director of Queer Aging BC, an organization supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors through specialized programs and advocacy.

As a gerontologist, community developer, advocate and community member, Riadi has been working in the senior-serving sector since 2019.

“Our population is a minority of a minority. Many have mental health struggles because of the way they were brought up; a lot are low income because of lack of family support. There’s so much happening in someone’s life —  plus on top of that, being queer and being a senior.”

Queer Aging BC (QABC) offers everything from legal services and housing support, to crisis support or end-of-life planning, alongside their main Rainbow Circle peer-support program. The organization was established in 2012 (as Dignity House Advisory Committee) with a long-term goal of developing 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors’ housing projects. It was run by a board and volunteers until receiving charitable status in 2024. 

That same year, Riadi was on a queer seniors service providers panel at the province’s Healthy Aging Summit, talking about what services are out there and what’s missing for seniors. She felt that the fact it was 2024 and the province didn’t have policies already in place for gender-diverse older people was odd.

“It was really the first time that we’ve ever talked about that in a provincial setting like that for service providers. I didn’t see a lot of services or anything catering to this population,” says Riadi.

“I’m a queer person, but I’m not a senior. We need to understand what the community needs first before just plunging in. I also have to think about the generational differences, things they grew up with and their life experiences.”

She met Darren Usher, board chair for Dignity Seniors Society and kept in touch, brainstorming ideas about what queer senior services could look like.

Dignity Seniors is now Queer Aging BC

This summer, the organization went through a rebrand to highlight the main focus of their programming. Being called Dignity Seniors, they were often thought of as solely providing end-of-life services. Dignity with aging was relevant, but there was a lot of misunderstanding about what the services would be, so they wanted to make it clearer who their demographic is and make it easy for clients to find them in a simple Google search.

“We got a little push-back because in the past, the word “queer” was a slur, but the world is changing and it’s sort of a reclamation, we’re reclaiming that word and making it our own,” says Riadi. “It’s also an umbrella term which is nice to use because gender identities could change and people might identify as something not included in the abbreviation [2SLGBTQIA+].”

The organization focuses its core programs and services in Metro Vancouver. However, they have identified needs and fielded inquiries from Vancouver Island, the B.C. Interior and northern B.C. 

“There are pockets of senior populations and the even smaller bracket of that is 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors in rural areas where these kinds of services don’t exist, so we’d like provincial reach — which is why we changed our name too, to have a ‘BC’ on it because we’d like our peer support program to be conducted on video and by phone for those who need it, and those who need advocacy in smaller regions and rural areas,” Riadi explains.

The organization’s social workers will be working on creating a training module for those who work with queer seniors. Once that’s developed, they hope to empower and support others to do this work in their communities around the province.

Long-term care project

QABC has staff that works closely with the health authorities because it noticed that gender diverse people may not always be treated properly in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities because of stigma among staff as well as residents.

“We saw that there’s a number of suicides that have happened because of that,” says Riadi. “We also noticed that for seniors who are queer and trans, if they go through dementia or Alzheimer’s, they have a very strong reaction to their gender. It’s a very complicated situation that can quite significantly impact someone’s life or mental health.”

QABC wants to ensure that policies and staff training materials are developed, alongside local health authorities, as neither are currently available.

“That’s where our advocacy comes in. We are speaking with health authorities on developing a really robust system of what staff could do, what to expect when you have a senior in these situations, list out the situations that could happen in long-term care homes and list out the situations that could be elder abuse as it relates to queer seniors,” Riadi says. “There’s a lot of instances where because of their sexuality or gender identity it’s not seen as abuse, such as spousal things. Because they’re the same gender, it’s not taken seriously.”

Rainbow Circle

Designed to address the unique challenges faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors, including feelings of isolation, the organization’s core Rainbow Circle program addresses the need for compassionate, culturally appropriate one-on-one support, and the reliance on chosen family who may be facing similar challenges.  

“They are being matched with queer volunteers who are also seniors and we’ve seen such a dramatic, significant improvement in their lives because a lot of queer seniors don’t have family, they grew up in an environment where their identity was criminalized for no reason,” Riadi says. “There’s a lot of distrust in the system, in the medical system, the health care system because policies were never made for them or had them in mind. So having someone who is the same age, who is also queer, to talk to and to also check in on them, has made a difference.”

Collaboration, community and pride

Working closely with partners like QMUNITY, the West End Seniors Network, Saige Community Food Share Society, Friends for Life Society and Gordon Neighbourhood House, QABC works to address the needs of clients and the community, which also includes fun social events like Aging with Pride that took place in July at Barclay Square.

“It builds a sense of community,” says Riadi. “I am on the younger side working with seniors, but at these events we forget about age because a lot of our life experiences can be similar despite when we were born. We have a connection in our queerness.”

QABC was also at the Davie Village Pride Festival on Aug. 2 (after the Vancouver Pride Parade). They connected with festival-goers about their Rainbow Circle queer support program and signed up peer volunteers.

All of Queer Aging BC’s programs are free for seniors in the 2SLGTBQIA+ community. You can connect with them for support, to volunteer, or to donate to their programming online at queeragingbc.ca

Celebrating queer elders

Since 2024, the organization has also recognized outstanding individuals in the community through its Q-T Elders program.

“We noticed that there’s not a lot of celebration for the seniors who went through everything… having their identity criminalized, having to fight for the people that they love, having to fight to be in a partnership, then the HIV/AIDS crisis. Walking through and around that stigma, while also trying to smash a glass ceiling — there are a lot of things they have done in their lives that we can’t fathom doing now. We want that celebrated and seen by the rest of the population.”

If you know a queer senior who has a phenomenal story to share, nominate them online at queeragingbc.ca

Reaching queer seniors in B.C.

Riadi wants 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors to know that there are programs for them.

“We want to make sure we get the word out for a senior who is living by themselves in a highrise building in the Fraser Valley and they don’t know if there’s a service or group for them. They can know this exists.”

For a small non-profit, the challenge ahead is substantial, but Riadi says that as long as their programs are running and their seniors are being served, that’s all that matters.

“I’m a senior in training. Everyone is. If we are lucky, we’re going to be that age and I hope for a better future for us of course, but what we can do now is create a good present for them.”  

All of Queer Aging BC’s programs are free for seniors in the 2SLGTBQIA+ community. Connect with them for support, to volunteer, or to donate to their programs  onlnie at queeragingbc.ca