Charles Torian worked in the aerospace industry for most of his life before retiring to an assisted living facility in Long Beach, California, and although Torian enjoys his new life there is something that separates him from his fellow residents.

“There’s no indication that there’s anybody besides me that has a homosexual background. I’ve never heard it mentioned or anything around here. So it’s kinda lonely,” said Torian.

Torian is part of a growing population of LGBT seniors, many of whom share his feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Though it is common for all seniors to experience these feelings, the needs of the LGBT senior community differ from those of the heterosexual senior community based on their experiences and the laws that regulate their lives.

According to a study by MetLife entitled “Still Out, Still Aging”, 50 percent of senior LGBT baby boomers do not expect to retire until they are 70 years of age or older, the same is only true for less than 40 percent of heterosexual baby boomers.

Kathleen Sullivan, the director of senior services at the LA Gay and Lesbian center, believes there are many factors that contribute to delayed LGBT senior retirement.

“People that are in their 70’s and 80’s lived through a time when they could be fired, very easily, for being gay or lesbian. So often time people had what we would consider very fringe or marginal type jobs where they weren’t making a pension. They, maybe, weren’t making a great income. So people have had to work later into life,” said Sullivan.

Another factor that contributes to a higher working age for the LGBT community is the lack of benefits people in the community receive when their partner or loved one dies.

“I think the other thing that causes people to go back into the workforce is when they lose their partner. Particularly if their partner was sort of the main bread winner because LGBT seniors do not get survivor benefits through social security like heterosexuals do. All of a sudden they have limited income or in some cases no income. So they actually have to go back into the workforce,” said Sullivan.

The “Still Out, Still Aging” survey goes on to say that 27 percent of LGBT baby boomers fear being discriminated against as they age, and that percentage is even higher for those already into their advanced years.

This fear of discrimination results in many LGBT seniors wanting to live at home for as long as possible.

However, this creates new problems for the 66 percent of LGBT seniors who live alone, according to the LA Gay and Lesbian center.

“We already know from years of research [living alone] causes isolation and has detrimental impacts on people’s mental and physical health,” said Sullivan.

Many heterosexual seniors also live alone and some of them find solace in interacting with people at their local senior centers, but LGBT seniors do not always feel they have the same luxury.

“I can’t tell you how many times a senior will come to us and be part of our care giving group because they’ve gone to care givers support groups in their community and they were either completely unwelcome when they started talking about their same sex partner that they were caring for or they just didn’t feel comfortable or safe to share in that environment, “said Sullivan.

These are some of the issues that face Torian as the only openly gay individual at his assisted living facility.

When he was young, Torian was forced to keep his sexuality a secret, but now that he is older he feels there is no need to hide it anymore.

“This is probably the most out I have been in my life. And I don’t mind it. It doesn’t bother me at all. I think the sad thing is there’s a lot of men, and women too, that are missing out on a lot of their lives because they refuse to admit to their sexuality. You have to develop an attitude and an acceptance to certain things in your life. Once you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve got that developed and you’re comfortable living with it, then life’s not bad,” said Torain.

He went on to add, “I would prefer to have at least one friend that I could be intimate with, not sexually but just in a conversation. It gets pretty lonely when you’re just by yourself”.

In California, state and local governments are working together to try to combat some of the issues facing LGBT seniors.

“The state of California has done a good job because it mandated six years ago that senior centers had to include programming for LGBT seniors,” said Sullivan.

Her organization, the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, already specializes in programs for LBGT seniors.

The center, which is located near the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood, is a primarily government funded organization that provides free enrichment and educational programming for LGBT seniors 50 years of age and older.

They also provide case management, which helps LGBT seniors who are in need of food and shelter, and training on how to care for LGBT seniors to healthcare professionals.

These programs make a difference to the seniors who are able to participate in them.

Michael Scott, a gay man in his late 60’s, takes advantage of the programs that are offered to LGBT seniors by the city of West Hollywood.

Scott lives alone in North Hollywood, and these programs give him a chance to go out and interact with others.

“I actually go to three different groups. [One] is a group of primarily West Hollywood seniors who get together every week for friendship and to talk and discuss. Courtesy of the West Hollywood community organizations we get invited to various trips, museums, and events. So it’s something that gay seniors can keep connected with,” said Scott.

While programs like these are state mandated, the only places they have been embraced are West Hollywood and Hollywood, which creates a problem for LGBT seniors who live in other cities.

“[Having these programs throughout California would] mean that we wouldn’t have to provide services for people that live 20 or 30 miles away who feel like they can’t go to their own senior center because they’re not welcome there. If they were welcome there they wouldn’t have to make the trek into here. And when they can no longer drive on their own often times these seniors are isolated because they just can’t get here and they don’t feel comfortable taking advantage of programs and services in their own community,” said Sullivan.

She added,” It’s a process and we’re working towards it. That’s one thing that will be great is just including these seniors in programming where they haven’t been included before.”

California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is also working to help LGBT seniors by reintroducing an amendment to the Social Security Act that will allow same sex domestic partners to receive survivor benefits after a loved one passes away.