How to Use SAGE Connect for LGBTQ+ Elders

Loneliness is a serious health problem. The US Surgeon General called it an epidemic in 2023, and the research is clear: long-term loneliness raises the risk of heart disease, dementia, and early death by amounts comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. For LGBTQ+ older adults, the risk is even higher. According to SAGE, LGBTQ+ elders are twice as likely to live alone, four times less likely to have children, and three times more likely to be socially isolated than their straight peers. Many lost partners, friends, and family during the AIDS crisis. Others were rejected by their families when they came out. Some came out late and now find their old friend groups gone. The result is a generation of strong, smart, kind people sitting at home with no one to talk to.

SAGE Connect is a free national program that pairs LGBTQ+ adults over 50 with a friendly caller for regular phone or video chats. The program started in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic and has grown to serve thousands of LGBTQ+ elders across all 50 states. There is no cost, no minimum technology requirement (a landline works fine), and no application fee. Calls are usually weekly and last 30 to 60 minutes. You and your caller talk about whatever you want: books, family, news, memories, neighborhood happenings, recipes, or hard days. Calls are confidential. SAGE matches you based on shared interests, location, and any preferences you have about your caller's identity, age, or background. The match can be adjusted if it does not feel right.

This guide walks you through how to sign up, what to expect on your first call, how to make the calls as helpful as possible, and what other free SAGE resources fit alongside the calling program. SAGE Connect is one piece of a larger SAGE network that includes in-person centers in many cities, the LGBT National Hotline (1-888-234-7243), the SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline (1-877-360-LGBT or 1-877-360-5428) for crisis support, and online events through SAGECare and Town Hall meetings. You can use one program or all of them, in any combination that works for you.

SAGE Connect is a phone-based program, so the technology is whatever phone you already use. You do not need a smartphone, internet, or computer to take part. If you do have a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a camera and internet, you can also choose video chats over Zoom, which adds the comfort of seeing your caller's face. SAGE staff help with the technology side if needed. You can call and ask for help setting up a Zoom call, and a coordinator will walk you through it step by step.