Older Adults in Tampa Bay

When it comes to breadth of services and activities for LGBT seniors, the Tampa Bay area is fortunate to have the Metro Wellness and Community Centers.   Joseph (Joe) Smith works as a volunteer with senior programs at the St Pete Center.  During our interview, Joe provided some background on the Center and how it has developed programs for "older adults" over the last couple of years.  The Metro Center in St. Pete is housed in a large office type building that seems well designed for their needs.  There are many meeting rooms, a technology space and a multi-purpose Community Center room, where Joe, an athletic trainer, teaches classes.  

Joe lived in the Tampa/St. Pete area for a number of years then decided to move to Philadelphia to decide his future housing options.  He got involved in the LGBT community  and the Senior Summit of providers of services to seniors on LGBT issues, which eventuated in the LGBT Elder Initiative of the Delaware Valley (LGBTEI.org).   Joe returned to Florida partially for health reasons and warm weather, but mostly based on financial need.  He started working at Metro and seems quite happy with his job there. He said, "I'm a firm believer that older adults should volunteer in life-giving ways to serve the community and utilize their best talents/skills/experience.  I encourage others to recognize their talent and "carve a niche" which allows them to do so."

After our interview, Joe invited Jane and me to his Tuesday morning "Mature Men's Group" so I could introduce them to my research project and encourage them to take my on-line survey.  About 25 guys from their 50's to their 70's showed up for the meeting, evidence that Joe has got some draw.  What a great group they were!  They asked good questions and provided some leads for senior communities in the Tampa area that they thought might be worth considering for interviews.   

Joe is such a great guy.  I liked him immediately.  His openness and honesty, easy laugh and direct approach to difficult questions resulted in a great interview.  Did I mention, he used to be a Catholic priest?  And yes, his hair was dyed green.  Our interview was the day after St. Patrick's Day.