George Kwast spent most of his time indoors for 15 years after retiring in 2009, staying alone in his Manhattan apartment. His days were filled with reading books, watching TV, and thinking about friends who had either passed away or moved elsewhere.
Things took a turn when he went to visit the Edie Windsor SAGE Center. This center depends on both government and private financial help to support older adults from the LGBTQ. community, a group that often faces higher chances of being poor or alone compared to straight seniors.
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From the moment he stepped into that center last year, his routine and social life began to change. He now has a group of new friends who ask him over for dinner and also meet him at the center for various group activities like book readings, karaoke nights, and bingo games.
He has even started singing songs from past decades by musicians like Irving Berlin and Perry Como. “I need to move around when I sing, because I see myself more as a performer than a proper singer,” said Mr. Kwast, now 76, who spent three decades working as a waiter in hotels.
The Center Faces a Threat from Trump’s Directives
Things are no longer as stable at the Edie Windsor SAGE Center and other similar support groups for L.G.B.T.Q. seniors. This is because of actions taken by the Trump administration, which has been aggressive in reducing budgets and has also shown clear opposition to diversity efforts and transgender protections.
One of the biggest concerns comes from executive orders issued right after President Trump entered office in January. These orders placed strict rules on groups that receive government contracts, stopping them from using diversity and inclusion plans in their operations.
They also declared that the U.S. government would only accept two permanent sexes, male and female, and banned any use of federal money to promote what it called “gender ideology,” a term that has no clear definition under the law.
These orders have created real problems for service providers across America, including SAGE, which offers support for older L.G.B.T.Q. people in both Florida and New York. Several organizations chose not to speak openly for this article because they were worried about being punished or targeted by the Trump administration.
Michael Adams, the head of SAGE, explained that the organization has already lost grant money due to Trump’s executive actions. These funds made up about one-tenth of their entire budget. Because of this, they have had no choice but to let some staff go and shut down certain programs.
“We expect that all of our remaining direct federal funding will be gone by the end of summer,” he said. “Even though it may look like just numbers on financial charts, these cuts directly affect people’s everyday lives.”
