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Embodied

How LGBTQ Seniors Are Aging In Community

By Kaia Findlay,
Anita Rao, Amanda Magnus, Wilson Sayre
Published November 7, 2025 at 1:01 PM EST
The logo for Embodied, which features a person with brown skin wearing yellow pants, a white shirt and white glasses pulling back a starry curtain of the silhouette of a person that is roughly twice as large as the person in yellow pants. The word "Embodied" is at the top with the WUNC logo directly underneath it and the PRX logo in the bottom righthand corner of the illustration. All of the text is in white, and the background of the illustration is light blue.

LQBTQ seniors face distinct challenges in older age — from isolation to struggles in accessing care and services because of their sexuality. Anita talks with three folks building solutions:  a lesbian couple who built the first 55+ senior cohousing community in the country and a young activist connecting LGBTQ elders with resources.

When married couple Pat McAulay and Margaret Roesch were in their 40s, they had a shared dream for old age: living in a big house with other lesbians where everyone took care of each other. That vision — and their experiences with isolation and discrimination — inspired them to build Village Hearth, the first 55+ co-housing community for LGBTQ seniors and allies in the U.S.

Pat and Margaret share stories with host Anita Rao about what it’s been like to live at Village Hearth for the past five years.

Anita then talks with activist Jane Haskell about how she’s helping connect queer folks with other models for aging in community, from RV parks to affordable housing. Jane is the director of impact and engagement at SAGE, a non-profit advocacy and service organization focused on LGBTQ seniors.

Read the transcript

Embodied
Kaia Findlay
Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
See stories by Kaia Findlay
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
See stories by Anita Rao
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus is the executive producer of Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships and health. She has also worked on other WUNC shows including Tested and CREEP.
See stories by Amanda Magnus
Wilson Sayre
Wilson Sayre is WUNC's Director of Digital Content leading our podcasting strategy and initiatives. She has worn many hats in the audio world as an editor, producer, consultant and team lead. Wilson was Managing Producer at Pushkin (previously Transmitter Media) where she helped launch shows like Am I Normal, the TED Interview and The Heist. Before that, she served as Executive Producer at Capitol Broadcasting Company and lead reporter for The City podcast from USA Today. Prior to that, she covered social safety net programs at WLRN, Miami's NPR member station. There, she founded the station's youth radio program. Wilson's work has been recognized by the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize and national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Wilson grew up in North Carolina and enjoys playing banjo and eating chocolate, usually not at the same time.
See stories by Wilson Sayre