LGBTQ senior center opens in Austin

(KXAN) Meals on Wheels Central Texas is celebrating the grand opening of its first-ever LGBTQ senior center.

The center, which has been in operation for a few weeks after a soft opening in September, is housed at Metropolitan Community Church in south Austin. The program is not affiliated with the church or any religious messaging, though most of the members so far attend services there.

The center is necessary, officials say, because members of the LGBTQ community don’t want to risk discrimination at other social spaces as they age.

The group of seniors, who calls themselves the Golden Generation, meet twice a week. Meals on Wheels provides lunch, and the members play games and socialize.

“There is something to be said about being gay and being with other gay people that just lets you be yourself,” says Tony Krug, one of the group’s members.

He’s been out since the 1980s, but as he nears 70 years old, he’s careful when he goes to other senior centers. Those other programs are welcoming, too, but Krug said the atmosphere is different.

“Even at the south Austin center,” he said, “you have to be cautious because you don’t know how you’re going to be accepted. Here, you walk in the door, you know you’re accepted.”

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