The grand opening of the beautiful Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) space took place Friday, June 15.
‘I could not have envisioned for it to look like this,’ said longtime community activist Vernita Gray. ‘I am very fortunate and lucky to have aged in such a community.’
Gray feels that the SAGE space will help the elder community and youth community interact and share with one another.
Center on Halsted executive director Modesto ‘Tico’ Valle feels the LGBT elder community—a community living on the fringe of society—deserves such a space.
‘No longer are you on the [periphery],’ Valle said. ‘You are now in the center—the center of our community.’
Serena Worthington, director of SAGE, was brought to tears when welcoming the LGBT elder community to the center, housed at the new Center on Halsted.
‘Instead of staying in the shadows…our elders, at great professional and personal risk came out onto the streets,’ Worthington said. ‘Here we stand in what, to me, is a direct result of those risks. Thanks, and welcome home.’ Photo of ‘Tico’ Valle and Vernita Gray by Amy Wooten