BERNARDSTON — Inspired by the popular bimonthly Rainbow Elders group, the Bernardston Senior Center has started its own LGBTQ group for residents in northern Franklin County.

The group, which convened for the first time on Friday, is set to meet monthly to connect, educate each other and the community, and advocate for LGBTQ issues.

“This group of elders has more needs,” said Donna Liebl, a volunteer with Rainbow Elders who attended the North County LGBTQIA+ group meeting. “We were taught to be invisible.”

Bernardston Senior Center Director Jennifer Reynolds, who is also the organizer of the group, said now is an opportune time to create affinity groups like this locally. She said there are more than 100 bills in state governments that would take away LGBTQ rights, including 18 states that seek to ban transgender athletes from competing.

With Maura Healey, an openly lesbian politician, being elected as governor of Massachusetts, now is the time to advocate for LGBTQ rights, Reynolds said.

“With the right leadership, it makes the change we need to see,” she said.

While Reynolds hopes there will be advocacy work as part of the monthly gatherings, she said she will let the members take charge of what they would like to do as a community. The group is not just limited to LGBTQ community members, either. Reynolds noted parents with gay or transgender children and people who are interested in learning about LGBTQ issues are all welcome.

The Rainbow Elders group, sponsored by Greenfield-based LifePath, meets for lunch once a month and over Zoom once a month. While the Zoom option allows people who are homebound to be included, it also excludes elders who have difficulties with technology. Reynolds hopes that people who need to meet in person will benefit from the gatherings at the Bernardston Senior Center.

“It is important for the town to promote equity,” Reynolds continued. She said having affinity groups for certain populations is an easy way to promote equity in the community. With the two grants the center just received totaling $16,000, there will be more money funneled into programs like these. The center hosts a Spanish language group to promote equity as well.

LGBTQ elders may be in a more vulnerable position than their heterosexual and cisgender peers because members of the LGBTQ community are less likely to have children. Liebl said many seniors are taken care of by their children, and without this support, they are left more isolated.

Aside from Rainbow Elders, there are no other LGBTQ groups specifically for seniors in Franklin and Hampshire counties. With the placement of the Senior Center’s group in the upper Pioneer Valley, Reynolds hopes to attract and support people outside of Northampton, a city known for its LGBTQ community, but welcomes people from far beyond the borders of Bernardston and even Massachusetts to join.

The group may also host panel discussions for the larger community about LGBTQ history and to provide a platform to share stories from people’s own lives. Liebl said panel discussions like these have been successful at other local senior centers.

At the same time, the group also hopes to encourage LGBTQ seniors to take part in other activities at the Bernardston Senior Center to get people integrated into the broader community.

Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.

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