BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $20 million senior housing initiative for members of the LGBTQ+ community during her state of the state this week.
Local LGBTQ leaders say this push is just the beginning since they feel this population is often left out of conversations.
“The elders are the people who paved the wave for us. If we don’t have that kind of respect and concern for their well-being then what does that say about us,” says Tajé Jenkins-Jones, a founder of Black & Latino Pride. “Because one day we’ll be there and hopefully everything will be in place.”
Others even say older members of the LGBTQ community often experience financial hardships and social isolation.
“Almost to having little to no support so by making this investments we can make sure that the senior housing has wrapped around culturally comprehensive services,” Alexandre Burgos, a community leader says. “I think this is an emotional big leap forward for our community, but there’s still much more to be done.”
Some say this initiative by Hochul reinforces the need that generations are part of this conversation.
“All things that can be a social determined to living a happy and healthy life,” Jenkins-Jones says. “This will increase the quality of life for a generational of people that have been historically forgotten.”
