Health & Wellness Programs

EPIC, Empath Partners in Care, provides HIV prevention, testing, treatment and support across six locations in the Tampa Bay area. It is part of Empath Health, and it serves a population that includes a large number of people who have been living with HIV for decades and are now aging with it. Services include free HIV testing and home test kits, an HIV medical home, medical case management, counseling, PrEP and TelePrEP, pharmacy services, housing assistance, food pantries and meals, support groups and financial assistance. A separate program, TOPWA, supports pregnant people living with HIV. That combination matters for older adults specifically. Long-term survivors often need case management, housing help and food support at the same time as medical care, and having them in one organization removes a lot of the coordination burden that otherwise falls on the person themselves. Phone numbers differ by county: Pinellas is (727) 328-3260 and Hillsborough is (813) 237-3066. Costs are not published in full, and financial assistance is available.

Golden Rainbows of Illinois South is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving LGBTQIA+ adults aged 50 and over, and people aging with HIV, across Southern Illinois. Its stated mission is to help that community overcome the disparities caused by a lack of equitable services available to them. That framing is accurate to the geography: most LGBTQIA+ elder services in Illinois sit in and around Chicago, several hours north. Support covers emotional and legal needs alongside health, housing, medical care, history and social engagement. Meeting times and a street address are not published. Contact the organization by phone or email to find out what is running near you.

Let's Kick ASS Palm Springs serves long-term HIV and AIDS survivors in the Coachella Valley. ASS stands for AIDS Survivor Syndrome, and the organization exists because surviving an epidemic that killed a generation of your friends leaves its own mark, one that most aging services are not set up to recognize. The work is mostly social by design. The calendar includes monthly potlucks, coffee socials twice a month, bowling afternoons, roundtable discussion groups both in person and online, museum and cultural outings, dining events, an annual Long-Term Survivors Day and a Thanksgiving feast. The organization also runs HIV education and advocacy work, and publishes a newsletter and blog. Most events are free. Bowling carries a $15 charge per person. It is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity and operates from a post office box rather than a walk-in office, so contact is by email.

Peninsula Family Service is a San Mateo nonprofit serving people from birth through later life. Its older-adult work is built around peer counseling, volunteer support and the Fair Oaks Adult Activity Center, and is aimed at health, mobility and independence rather than at care. The peer counseling program is substantial: the organization reported 58,507 service hours delivered by peer counselors in 2023. Eligibility, costs and office hours are not published. Call to ask what applies to your situation, and to confirm which programs are currently running at Fair Oaks.

LAASN, the LGBTQ+ Aging and Abilities Support Network, is a program of Shanti Project in San Francisco. Shanti has worked on isolation and peer support since the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and LAASN applies that model to LGBTQIA+ older adults and people with disabilities. Peer support is the core of it. Isolation is not a soft problem in later life: it is associated with worse health outcomes, and LGBTQIA+ elders are markedly more likely than their peers to be aging without a spouse or adult children. Eligibility, hours and costs are not published on the organization's public pages. Call the main Shanti number and ask for LAASN.

The LOFT is the LGBTQ+ community center serving Westchester County and the wider Hudson Valley from White Plains, New York. It runs support groups, social activities, health services and advocacy. Its older-adult programming is Silver Connections, for people 55 and over. Alongside it the center runs programming for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ communities, trans support and wellness services. Hours and costs are not published on the center's site. Call before traveling, particularly if you are coming for a specific group.

TransNetwork is a Tampa Bay community organization dedicated to uplifting and empowering transgender and gender-expansive people through advocacy, education and celebration. Its work includes the Trans March, Transtastic events, Support Space gatherings, community discussions, advocacy, a health fund run in partnership with Bell Pharmacy, and online support platforms. Nothing on the site is aimed specifically at older adults. It is listed here because trans elders are among the most isolated groups in aging, and because a health fund and a standing support space are practically useful at any age. If you are looking for elder-specific support, contact the organization and ask what exists. Services are free and the organization accepts donations. There is no published phone number or street address, so contact is by email.