who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) - about 1.1 million are 65 and older. Hayden Smith and her partner are among the estimated 2.7 million adults age 50 and older in the U.S. After the basics, much of their income is spent on health care and, often, an ever-growing list of repairs for the house, which has been in her partner’s family for more than six decades. They can only afford to live in a crumbling six-bedroom townhome, which they share with three middle-aged and older straight and lesbian women.
She and her partner of 30 years, a 78-year-old woman whose names she prefers not to mention, have had health challenges, forcing them to live on a fixed budget in pricey Washington, D.C.
For now, her dream is in stark contrast of her reality.