Elder LGBTs represent at AARP extravaganza

Local LGBT elder service organizations will be among the scads of exhibitors at the American Association of Retired Persons' (AARP) annual conference, Life@50+, which comes to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from Sept. 6-8.

Stonewall Communities, a nonprofit organization that will break ground on an LGBT housing cooperative in the Fenway neighborhood next year, will be among the organizations hosting booths at the conference. David Aronstein, president of Stonewall Communities, has also invited The LGBT Aging Project, the Boston Prime Timers and The History Project to share space with his organization.

"The idea is that we want there to be a visible presence of LGBT people at AARP," said Aronstein. "It's the largest senior organization in the country." While the AARP has begun to tackle LGBT issues on its own, said Aronstein, "we thought this was an opportunity for the local senior-serving organizations to make a statement to the members that we're here and that there are resources for them." Stonewall Communities is among hundreds of exhibitors listed for the event on the AARP website. From Nintendo to NASA to Spotlight on Shingles (presumably not the kind you put on the roof) to Vigorous Mind Inc., the roster proves that there's more to growing old than orthopedic shoes and daytime soaps.

AARP donated the booth to Stonewall Communities, Aronstein said. His organization decided to share the space with other LGBT groups, Aronstein also said, "because we're an organization [but] we're also part of a movement to develop a range of services for a diversity of older LGBTs. ... These are organizations we work with all the time."

Stonewall Communities and friends won't be the only gay presence at the conference - the legendary Lily Tomlin is on the entertainment roster and RainbowVision Properties, which operates an LGBT retirement facility in Santa Fe, N.M., is also on the list of exhibitors.