Political Notebook: Laird intends to examine LGBTQ senior housing funding

A California legislative panel focused on the needs of LGBTQ older adults is expected to draw attention on how to finance affordable homes affirming of such seniors. It comes as one such development in San Francisco awaits word on if it will be selected for a state funding program to help jumpstart its construction next year.

As the Bay Area Reporter recently reported, the Milken Institute released this year a Financial Innovations Lab market landscape report laying out five market-tested solutions for how to finance LGBTQ senior-focused housing developments. They ranged from using social bonds and impact investment funds to pay-for-performance contracts and private investment incentives for such projects.

Titled “Models for Financing Affordable and LGBTQ+-Affirming Elder Housing at Scale,” the 22-page document also suggested an LGBTQ+ elder housing prize be created in order to elicit ideas that can be funded and replicated in different communities across the country. The think tank collaborated with national LGBTQ senior advocacy organization SAGE on the report, which was informed by interviews with dozens of experts from LGBTQ service providers and housing developers to government officials and academics.

"The Milken Institute’s findings on LGBTQ+ senior housing and the persistent financing gap are not new. Marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+ older adults (LOA), continue to face barriers to safe, inclusive, and affordable housing,” stated gay state Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Older LGBTQ+ Californians.

The B.A.R. had inquired with Laird’s office on if he had reviewed the report and thinks any of its recommendations are implementable in California. While his select committee has yet to schedule a specific hearing on the matter, Laird committed to highlighting the issue.

“As chair of the newly formed Select Committee on Older LGBTQ+ Californians, I intend to examine the recommendations provided so that LOA have the tools, information, and opportunities they need to expand housing options that are truly inclusive and accessible," stated Laird, 75, the oldest member of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.

Of the nearly 14 million LGBTQ+ Americans, 1.1 million are 65 years of age or older, according to a 2024 Gallup survey, with that age group expected to number more than 7 million by 2030. By then, nearly 10 million Californians will be an older adult, about 25% of the state’s population, according to state officials, with it estimated that 5% of them being LGBTQ community members.

Yet there were roughly 1,500 affordable housing units affirming of LGBTQ+ older adults across 20 states as of 2023, according to the Milken report. It noted there were “37 such developments in various stages of planning or operation.”

While the governmental agency in Sacramento focused on serving the needs of all seniors in the Golden State isn’t involved with funding living units for that population, it does have oversight of California’s 10-year Master Plan for Aging. https://mpa.aging.ca.gov/ That document has “housing for all ages and stages” as its first goal to be met by 2030.

It means having “safe, affordable, and accessible housing across the lifespan,” noted California Department of Aging Director Susan DeMarois, who added in an emailed statement to the B.A.R. that, “CDA’s work does not extend into housing finance, but we recognize the importance of inclusive, LGBTQIA+-friendly housing options for older Californians.”

DeMarois also pointed to the master plan’s third goal, which focuses on making sure seniors feel included and not isolated. That section of the plan underscores “the need for equitable access to housing and services for older adults who may face barriers or stigma,” stated DeMarois. “Ensuring inclusive housing is an important part of building an age- and disability-friendly California, as envisioned in the Master Plan for Aging.”

In 2024, the aging department released the results of its first-ever survey of LGBTQ seniors in California and what their top concerns were. Of the 4,037 respondents, as the B.A.R. previously reported, roughly one in eight said they worried about losing their current housing.

It resulted in the survey team recommending that policy leaders and organizations ensure “that local solutions include LGBTQIA+-friendly housing options for LGBTQIA older adults.”

 
San Francisco LGBTQ senior services provider Openhouse and its development partner, Mercy Housing, have been trying to secure state financing to jumpstart construction on 187 units of affordable housing aimed at LGBTQ seniors in the city’s upper Market Street corridor. It has been five years since the city bought the property and then chose the two agencies to develop it.

Once Mercy constructs the new building, Openhouse will provide services to the residents, who will be chosen by a lottery open to any senior whether LGBTQ or straight. It will be a short walk away from the former college campus the agencies teamed up on turning into 119 units of below-market-rate apartments affirming of LGBTQ seniors along with offices, meeting rooms, and a community center for the nonprofit agency.

Openhouse and Mercy officials are hopeful they will secure state financing this December for the third housing structure. In the last two selection rounds for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program overseen by the California Strategic Growth Council and the state's Department of Housing and Community Development, Mercy’s application was rejected.

Gay outgoing Openhouse interim Executive Director Vinny Eng told the B.A.R. that affordable housing developers across California face two distinct challenges in trying to increase the number of developments built for seniors, whether they’re marketed to LGBTQ older adults or seniors in general. The first is identifying land to develop, he said, and the second is how to pay for construction of the housing to be built on it.

“They are two very different challenges, and both present great challenges for developers right now,” said Eng, who will depart sometime after Morey Riordan, a transgender and queer father of two young adults, takes over as Openhouse's executive director September 16.

House candidate changes Prop 50 stance
As last week’s column initially reported, gay Southern California congressional candidate Curtis Morrison had been opposed to the redistricting measure voters will decide on in November. The immigration attorney had told the B.A.R. during an August 26 interview that he viewed Proposition 50 as gerrymandering, which he opposes seeing a political party use to draw districts that favor its candidates.

“It compromises democracy in a way we are not going to be able to undo,” Morrison had argued.

At the same time, he had told the B.A.R. that he had no plans to campaign against it and would be focused on why voters in the state’s 48th Congressional District should oust Congressmember Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and elect him to the San Diego area seat that would also include the LGBTQ retirement and tourist mecca of Palm Springs should Prop 50 pass.

“I am not personally sold on redistricting yet, but I am only one vote,” Morrison had noted.

Since then, even as more Democrats enter the race due to the district’s likely new boundaries, Morrison has changed his thinking on the ballot measure, saying he is “for it now.”

As he explained in a post on X, “The hypocrisy of Trump-apologist Republicans feigning moral outrage changed my mind. Also, the new CA48 is more of a hammerhead shark lego, which is cool.”
 
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on bisexual San Diego City Councilmember Marti von Wilpert ditching plans to seek a state Senate seat in 2026 to instead run for Issa’s House seat.

Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social .

Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected].