When Ann Francis and her partner approached their 80s, their list of medical needs grew longer. But they don't have children, the circle of friends in their community that they relied on for care was also aging and they had their own medical problems to tend to.
So when Francis and her partner started looking around for assisted living facilities near their home in Lansing, Michigan, they were disappointed they did not find one in which, as a lesbian couple, they felt welcomed. Once, someone told her they accepted LGBTQ residents, but they "could not guarantee" the other residents would be understanding, she told Salon in a phone interview.
