Southern Arizona Senior Pride

Southern Arizona Senior Pride celebrates, supports and unites LGBTQI+ adults age 55 and older and their younger allies. It began in 2004 as a program of the Wingspan LGBT Community Center and continued on its own after Wingspan closed in 2014. Its mission is to improve equity, create a sense of belonging and reduce social isolation.

Supportive services are at the center of the work. The Community Cares Program pairs trained, background-checked volunteers with LGBTQI+ older adults (and LGBTQI+ people with disabilities of any age) who are isolated, homebound or living in a care community, for friendly visits and phone calls at no charge. Facilitated grief and loss groups meet for men, for women and for transgender and non-binary adults of all ages, and Honoring a Life workshops cover advance medical care planning. Move with Purpose, an accessible movement class, and fall prevention classes with Pima Council on Aging support healthy aging.

Social and cultural programs fill out the calendar: a monthly book club, a weekly Drawing Circle at a Tucson coffee house, potlucks, park gatherings, walking groups, writing workshops, the annual Words of Wisdom poetry reading and film screenings. Senior Pride also shares vetted LGBTQI+-welcoming resources and works to raise awareness of LGBTQI+ aging issues.

Call (520) 312-8923 or email info@soazseniorpride.org to get started. Volunteers can apply to join the Community Cares Program or help at events, and donations are tax-deductible.