Community Engagement

Creating opportunities with, and not just for, LGBTQ+ seniors to build+ and reconnect with community in an intergenerational and aging-affirming space.

Bringing people together.

Through our Community Engagement programs, we organize hundreds of hours of intellectually stimulating activities each month that bring LGBTQ+ seniors together to meet, socialize, and learn together.

These programs include social gatherings, intergenerational lunch discussions, senior-led groups, film screenings, movement classes, cultural events, community advocacy groups, and much more.

Join us!

  • Lunches & social activities

  • Support groups

  • Physical activities

  • Classes of all kinds, from language classes to seminars

  • Celebratory events

  • Activities for trans and gender-nonconforming folks

At Openhouse, there’s something for everyone. Check out our list of programs and events that engage the mind, body, and soul:

These programs servicing the community are funded by the City and County of San Francisco's Department of Disability and Aging Services.

To find out about our current programs, check out our newsletter.

For questions about a specific program, please reach out to Openhouse Activities Specialist, Faire Faircloth via email at ffaircloth@openhousesf.org or by phone at 415.231.5883

Friendly Visits: The heart of our community engagement.

Being an Openhouse Community Member means building community across generations. At the heart of our Community Engagement programming is Openhouse’s Friendly Visitor program. Friendly Visitors of all ages are interested in cultivating deep and enriching friendships with LGBTQ+ seniors.

These friendships can take shape in many forms- going on walks, museum visits, sharing stories over coffee, or simply connecting over shared interests! Volunteers help provide companionship, emotional support, and some practical assistance to foster connections to our community. No matter our situation, we all need connection and community.

If you’d like someone to connect with, our Friendly Visitor program affirms that LGBTQ+ elders have lifetimes of experience, perspective and know-how. Now, younger LGBTQ+ folks want to be part of the legacy! Through this program, we honor each other’s fierceness and vulnerability, and we affirm the beauty and wisdom in being exactly who we are, at every age. If you are an LGBTQ+ senior interested in connecting with a visitor, they are eager to meet you!

TO LEARN MORE > connect with our Intergenerational Program Coordinator, Lila Goehring (she/her) at lgoehring@openhousesf.org.