Aging LGBTQ population is often lonely, isolated: AARP survey

As many in the LGBTQ community reach older age, they often find themselves alone and isolated, according to a recent AARP survey. The Washington Post reported that Bill Hall, 71, who has been through the gamut, spending much of his older age alone, has a similar experience to those surveyed.

Hall contracted HIV, the virus linked to AIDS, in 1986. That was just the beginning - he’s suffered from depression, heart disease, diabetes, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer and prostate cancer since then, the outlet noted. He’s been in the hospital five times in 2023 alone.

He grew up indigenous in Alaska but came to Seattle after a troubled and abused childhood. He lives alone in the city and says he has been mostly alone for his adult life. "It's really difficult to maintain a positive attitude when you’re going through so much,” Hall told the outlet. “You become mentally exhausted.”

AARP surveyed 2,200 LGBTQ+ adults over the age of 44 and 48 percent reported feeling isolated. 45 percent said they were living alone or without a stable relationship. Almost 80 percent said they feared it would get worse as they age without friends, family or a support network.

A lot of them won’t be in a relationship and even fewer will have children or grandchildren. The family safety net that applies to most in society doesn't usually apply to them, according to the AARP survey.

Being alone and is common for seniors in the LGBTQ community that has about three million members over the age of 50. They are two times more likely to be on their own than heterosexuals, according to the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.