Atlanta LGBT senior groups providing space for a spark

When Richard Rhodes’ partner passed away in 2003, the then-66-year-old gay Atlanta resident thought he was done with relationships.

“I originally thought, well hell, I’m past the age where anybody will be interested in anything,” he tells Georgia Voice.

So he wasn’t looking to date anyone, but he did want to get out there and meet people, so he started taking part in activities provided by LGBT senior groups SAGE Atlanta and Atlanta Prime Timers.

“This man came to a SAGE meeting one day and I was very taken with him and we just started talking and I told him I thought he would like Prime Timers better,” Rhodes says. “So he showed up at Prime Timers with another man. We were friends for a year and they broke up and I moved in for the kill.”

Rhodes, now 78, and William Castro, 60, have been dating for two years. And it’s thanks to programs like SAGE and Atlanta Prime Timers, which continue to provide a number of services for LGBT seniors throughout the metro Atlanta area.

National organizations have Atlanta chapters

“This man came to a SAGE meeting one day and I was very taken with him and we just started talking and I told him I thought he would like Prime Timers better. So he showed up at Prime Timers with another man. We were friends for a year and they broke up and I moved in for the kill.”

By PATRICK SAUNDERS