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Welcome to The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing!
At the orner of GratitudeHope and
Local Seniors Gain a New Lease on Life Inside The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing
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by Gil Diaz and Greg Hernandez
Five months after opening the doors of the Michaeljohn Horne & Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has reached another milestone: the highly anticipated opening of The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing. Not only will the 98-unit affordable housing complex begin to transform the lives of many vulnerable seniors ages 62 and above, it also will represent the culmination of years of planning and hard work.
“The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing is the final cornerstone which completes the Center’s decades-long dream to build the intergenerational and revolutionary Anita May Rosenstein Campus. We are immensely proud to provide a nurturing housing community for seniors who are on fixed incomes and for those previously experiencing homelessness,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “We are deeply grateful for the generosity of Ariadne Getty and her foundation as they stepped up to work with us to improve the lives of many seniors while continuing their ongoing support for LGBTQ youth. This incredible senior housing project would not have been possible without the support of many people, including our developer partner Thomas Safran & Associates.”
The cutting-edge 70,000-square-foot senior housing edifice is located in the heart of Hollywood, one block east of McCadden Place—where The Village at Ed Gould Plaza exists—and adjacent to the Center’s Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center. With construction interrupted abruptly by the COVID-19 pandemic, the soaring five-story structure finally came to life when the first residents began to inhabit their new abodes this summer. "They feel like they are finally coming to a place they can call home,” said the Center’s Senior Services Housing Navigator Jonathan Willett, who helped many residents during the move-in process. “It’s a place free of judgment, free of any hate for who they are. Finally, they can have some peace and live their lives within a warm, safe environment."
Sprawled across nearly three-quarters of an acre, the senior housing includes 19 studios, 75 one-bedroom units, and four two-bedroom dwellings. One unit is reserved for an on-site property manager, and 25 of them are designated as permanent supportive housing units for seniors experiencing homelessness whose rents are funded by Los Angeles county and city grants.
“For many of our residents, this is the last place they plan to live for the rest of their lives,” said Senior Services Director Kiera Pollock. “We know that we are the chosen family for most of our older adults who don’t have immediate family or children to take care of them. Most of them live alone and don’t have anyone to help support them—we’re here for them.”
THE NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The statistics are astounding: an estimated 65,000 LGBTQ seniors live in Los Angeles—68 percent of whom live alone. LGBTQ seniors generally struggle to afford housing and other necessities because they are four times less likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have children and grandchildren to support them and twice as likely to live alone.
“For decades, LGBTQ seniors have been on the frontlines advocating for equality. Without the progress they achieved and their personal sacrifices, the LGBTQ community would not have the same rights it does today,” said Ariadne Getty. “COVID-19 has been incredibly challenging, but even before the pandemic, LGBTQ seniors faced disproportionate rates of homelessness. Unfortunately, the
pandemic deepened disparities, making The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing an urgent need not only for the Los Angeles community, but as an example and inspiration for communities nationwide.”
In addition to living their lives authentically and fearlessly, seniors will be able to enjoy the building’s other perks. They have access to a full range of wraparound services and support provided by the Center’s Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center, including case management; home-delivered meals; in-home care and benefits assistance; connection to health and mental health care; HIV support and wellness; and counseling and support groups. Other life-enhancing services include daily meals catered by students of the Center’s unique Culinary Arts program; employment training; and more than 100 monthly activities provided for free or at low-cost.
Each unit is built with luxury vinyl flooring and includes premium finishes and beautiful new appliances.
“This project is a notable development in our company’s history and an example of what other cities should be doing,” said Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) President Jordan Pynes. “We have seen the demand for affordable housing grow exponentially in Los Angeles. The increase in rental prices, in congruence with the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused many of our Los Angeles neighbors to suffer from extreme financial hardship. We receive thousands of applications for our affordable housing communities, yet the demand far exceeds the supply.”
The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing initially was expected to be complete by the end of 2020, but the pandemic put a dent in the construction plans and subsequently crippled a nation. Despite COVID-19-related delays and barriers, TSA is proud of the senior housing’s result.
“Thomas Safran & Associates holds a mission to enhance the world in which we live and enrich the lives of the people who reside in our buildings,” said Pynes. “We partnered with the Los Angeles LGBT Center because we truly admire the work that the Center has done. With the Center’s support, we are excited to give back to our community and provide much needed housing and services.”
In the senior housing’s lobby, residents have access to a myriad of amenities, including a vast community room comprised of a communal kitchen, dining tables, desktop computer lab, television viewing area, billiard table, and upright piano. Around the corner from the community room are the offices of the property management, maintenance crew, and case managers. Residents also may utilize a fitness center and a coinless laundry facility. (The washing machines and dryers are activated by residents’ laundry debit cards.)
The community room’s floor-to-ceiling windows overlook a lush outdoor courtyard enhanced with patio furniture, barbecue gas grill, gas firepit, and a pathway leading directly to the Center’s Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center.
WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME
Some of the new residents arrived at 1127 North Las Palmas Avenue with professional movers in tow while others trickled through the senior housing’s main entryway with little more than the clothes on their backs. Some of them gathered their belongings from storage units, some from their friends’ garages.
All of the new residents, however, agree on one thing: securing a roof over their heads was a nail-biting experience that took a very long time. When the housing lottery opened in early 2020, more than 2,000 people applied online. In the midst of the lottery process, the pandemic emerged. Strongly advised by the Centers for Disease Control to self-isolate, many seniors found themselves cut off from the rest of the world. The pandemic only heightened their vulnerability to experience homelessness. By the time they were able to move into the senior housing, some of them were either couch surfing, living in cramped rooms or garages, or sleeping in a park. (Read some of our new residents’ compelling stories beginning on page 14.)
“Our residents have experienced everything: from folks who have been homeless for a great deal of time, or been recently homeless, to low-income individuals who have faced evictions or been priced out of their homes,” explained Pollock. “Moving into our new senior housing is the first time they’ve been able to move into an affordable place and be supported as they age.”
As an affirmation of the Center’s dedication to help LGBTQ seniors thrive, Pollock says a new resident shyly asked the onsite manager if it was okay to hang a Pride flag in their window.
The resident quickly received an enthusiastic one-word response: “Absolutely!”
• APARTMENTS ARE EQUIPPED WITH LUXURY VINYL FLOORING, PREMIUM FINISHES, AND NEW APPLIANCES (TOP LEFT) AS WELL AS SAFETY HANDRAILS AND A FOLDING SHOWER SEAT IN THE BATHROOM (BOTTOM LEFT). SOME UNITS INCLUDE A BALCONY (LEFT).
5STORIES TALL 70,000SQUARE FEET 19 STUDIOS 379 TO 464 SQUARE FEET
75 ONE-BEDROOMS 544 TO 612 SQUARE FEET
FOR RESIDENTS AGES
62+
1,200+
PEOPLE APPLIED
The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing received invaluable support from investors and government agencies, including:
CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Mayor Eric Garcetti Former Los Angeles Councilmember David Ryu Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles Los Angeles Housing Department
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl Los Angeles Community Development Corporation County Department of Health Services County Department of Mental Health
CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Treasurer Fiona Ma California Debt Limit Allocation Committee California Tax Credit Allocation Committee
INVESTORS
California Community Reinvestment Corporation Federal Home Loan Bank of California Wells Fargo Bank The David Mizener & Arturo Carrillo Senior Housing Gap Fund
Meet Some of Our New Residents!
Lisa Chilton
It had been a decade since Chilton had a home of her own, but she was trying to remain even-keeled as she moved her belongings into a third-floor studio. The day after moving in, she took the bus to a friend’s barbecue a few miles away. When it came time to return home, the 63-year-old Chicago native began to shake and cry uncontrollably. “It was nothing but euphoria because, when I got ready to leave my friend’s place, I was coming back to mine—and it was going to be as I left it,” shared Chilton. “During these 10 years, whether it was renting a room or sleeping on various sofas, I had been in many other people’s space, trying to stay small, and following their schedules.”
Chilton had always held a job. She worked as a pastry chef, an accountant, and, for many years, as a code enforcement officer and then a regulatory business license officer for the City of West Hollywood. But two freak accidents while on the job in 2007 left her unable to work. Gradually her living situation declined. She had to give up the rent-controlled apartment in West Hollywood where she had lived since 1986. By 2011 she rented a room in a friend’s large house for six years and, since 2017, had been “going from sofa to sofa to sofa.” Chilton had grown accustomed to what she describes as “the homeless circuit” which involved shuffling between thehomesoffriendsandfamily,from Redlands to Venice to Encino to West Hollywood. She was careful not to stay too long in any one place for fear of wearing out her welcome. “It’s been collecting my things from all these various places and figuring out what else I needed,” she said a few days after moving into the senior housing building. “I had downsized with each move and pretty much gave away most of my things.” Now it was time to start over. “This is probably the most important home I’ve ever had,” she said. “For many people, a home is a building where they have stuff. For me, home is my sanctuary. It is safety. It is a place of peace.”
Mark Simon
Simon was one of the first tenants to move into the complex. When the 73-year-old rang his own doorbell for the first time, he cracked at the remembrance of a Broadway musical: “This sounds like The Book of Mormon!” The semi-retired actor simply could not contain his excitement upon entering his one-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor. “In the words of Ethel Merman, ‘Today, this is the only place in the world to be!’” said Simon before dramatically breaking into a Merman song from the musical Happy Hunting: “Gee, but it’s good to be here! Frankly, I feel right at home!”
He looked out the window and pointed out the iconic Hollywood sign, the Griffith Observatory, and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where the first Oscars were held. “I’m certainly familiar with the view,” he said. “I also see the church where Bing Crosby married his first wife, Dixie.” A native of New York City, Simon had lived in a two-bedroom apartment he really loved in Los Feliz for 23 years. When the building was sold six years ago, he moved into a friend’s guest house. “I had a nifty little place, but the owners decided to move. Suddenly, I had a deadline to get out,” he shared. “I wanted a place that was mine, where I had some rights as the tenant. When you’re in a guest house, there are no rights.” Simon, who appeared in several plays for famed producer and director Joseph Papp, still works as an actor. He plays the role of a patient for medical students and doctors learning how to interview their patients.
For six years, he was the buyer for A Different Light Bookstore in West Hollywood, followed by a 14-year stint as buyer for the Samuel French Film and Theatre Bookshop on Sunset Boulevard. “I’ve been out since about 1976,” said Simon. “I always say I’m a professional gay.”
Carol Lynn
Standing in her new bedroom with movers setting up her bed, Lynn said to her friend helping with the move: “I love this place! I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.” After working as a registered nurse for more than three decades, Lynn knew she deserved better than to be living in a garage apartment in Ladera Heights without a kitchen—only with a mini-refrigerator. But money was tight and, for almost seven years, the 73-year-old made do. “It was small, but it was a roof over my head,” said Lynn, before taking a seat in her new bedroom due to her inability to stand for long periods of time.
“People keep saying I deserve this new apartment. I don’t know if I do or not, but I’m so proud and happy, and I’m looking forward to being part of the community,” she said. “I’ve already met a couple of guys who just moved in. Being LGBT, I’m with my peeps—and it’s wonderful!”
Eileen Weiner
For Weiner, a semi-retired musician and comedienne who recently moved into her one-bedroom apartment, it was all about the piano.
“I’m a piano player. When I walked into the senior housing’s community room and took a look at that piano, I said to myself, ‘You know, I’d live in a tent if that came along with it’—and I almost meant it,” she recalled.
Describingherselfas“55+++,”Weiner once had been a substitute teacher in Hawaii where she also actively participated in local theater. In recent years, she lived in Hollywood in a studio located four blocks away from the Center. Her studio perfectly fulfilled her needs, she said, until she discovered it was going to be demolished. “Before the pandemic, I had been coming to the Senior Center when they served hot lunch, and I would socialize. It was so nice!” recalled Weiner. “I saw the senior housing being built so I put my name in for the lottery. Even though I’m not usually very lucky, something told me this apartment might come through.”
She looks forward to playing the piano and leading sing-alongs with fellow residents.
“I consider myself part of the LGBT community. I’ve been there, done that,” she said with a laugh. “Who could be more fun to live with than a bunch of LGBT people?”
Michael Arrigo
With Parkinson’s Disease and nearly blind, Arrigo spent much of the past two years either splitting the cost of a motel room with a friend—only when he could afford to do so—or spending the night in a park.
In September he moved into a secondfloor studio which he proclaimed as “so clean—I love it!”
“I’m very excited to move in here,” said the 65-year-old on the day he received his keys. “I never thought I’d be able to live in this brand new, beautiful building.”
Since losing much of his eyesight at age 20, Arrigo has managed to remain remarkably positive and resilient.
“When I found out that I tested positive for HIV in 1987, all my friends were dropping dead from AIDS so I wanted to educate myself—and that’s what I’m doing with Parkinson’s,” said Arrigo, who served as vice chair of the City of West Hollywood’s Disabilities Advisory Board for 16 years. “I have my good days and bad days but, basically, I’m a strong person.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, he hit hard times financially and was evicted from his longtime West Hollywood apartment. He put his belongings into storage.
“My wallet was stolen soon after I lost my apartment, and I didn’t have an I.D. or a credit card to rent a hotel room,” he recalled. “At one point the storage company auctioned my stuff because I couldn’t pay them. Now, all I’ve got are the clothes on my back.”
Throughout his dire straits, Arrigo remained connected to the Center and received free lunches during the week. He used his smartphone to participate in community chats and classes offered by Senior Services via Zoom.
On move-in day, the Center’s Housing Navigator Jonathan Willett and other staff members helped Arrigo move his furniture including a futon, coffee table, bookshelves, lamps, and a television. Arrigo received new pots and pans, dishes, and towels.
“It’s all yours,” said an emotional Willett to Arrigo. “No more hotels. No more sleeping in the park.”
After giving her rousing speech at a 2013 fundraiser attended by some of Hollywood’s LGBTQ trailblazers— Ryan Murphy, Jane Lynch, Dustin Lance Black, among them— Center CEO Lorri L. Jean was introduced to a woman from the packed audience who eventually would play a major role in the Center’s future: Ariadne Getty. “Lorri was so impressive when she spoke that I knew I had to meet her,” recalled Getty. “We were introduced, we immediately connected, and our friendship has just blossomed from that day forward. Every conversation is a learning experience with Lorri.”
From that evening on, many social gatherings occurred between ally, activist, and philanthropist Ari, and Lorri, leader of the world’s largest LGBT organization, whether it was a cookout at Lorri’s house or a tête-à-tête lunch appointment. These meetings resulted in Ariadne gaining an insider’s look into the needs of the LGBT community’s various age groups—with eye-opening revelations.
“I learned that so many LGBTQ youth experience homelessness after coming out to their family and were left without the education, nutrition—and most importantly—the love they needed to succeed,” said Getty. “As a mother and an ally, I understood the immediate need and worked closely with the Center, as a direct services organization, and provided the resources needed to open The Ariadne Getty Foundation Youth Academy so more LGBTQ youth could receive the care and support they need to lead meaningful, healthy lives.”
The Youth Academy opened its doors in 2019 inside the Youth Center as part of the Center’s flagship Anita May Rosenstein Campus. The academy provides vital programs and services for youth to achieve their full potential: one-on-one mentoring by specially-trained adults; financial assistance to support their goals of completing their GED and attending college or trade school; a computer lab; and more.
“Ariadne Getty is the real deal,” said Jean. “She gives because she sees that there are important needs that must be met, and she wants to help. She gives because her heart is filled with compassion and empathy. She gives because she feels she has a responsibility to make a difference. But, Ari is more than an amazing philanthropist. She is a genuine and loving woman whom I am proud to call my friend.”
Now, with the completion of the 70,000square-foot Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing located a stone’s throw from the Youth Academy, Ari has elevated her stature as one of the truest allies of the LGBTQ community as well as the intergenerational movement. Sprawled across nearly three-quarters of an acre, the towering five-story Senior Housing boasts 98 units of affordable apartments for seniors ages 62 and above. It also includes a community room, fitness room, laundry facilities, and a lush outdoor courtyard.
“LGBTQ equality would not be where it is today without LGBTQ seniors. Yet, there’s no doubt we have a ways to go—and our LGBTQ youth are a part of the movement to help us get there,” explained Getty. “Intergenerational programs and services help teach the LGBTQ community where we came from, where we are, and where we need to go in our journey to LGBTQ equality. By creating a campus that houses both LGBTQ youth and seniors, not only are we creating a space that fosters community from young to old, but we are fueling the LGBTQ equality movement. I believe that the intergenerational campus at the Center should become a standard practice at centers across the globe.”
Always the self-effacing benefactor, Ari was always an ally and credits her two adult children, August and Nats, for instilling an even greater fervor to further support the LGBTQ community. “I fully immersed myself by reading all that I could to better understand and support them. I also quickly learned of the critical need to support the LGBTQ community on every level,” said Getty. “Unfortunately, addressing the level of discrimination, mental and physical medical issues, homelessness, addiction, employment discrimination, and acceptance among a myriad of other issues was not as far along as I imagined.”
To address the disparities and inequities experienced by LGBTQ folks, the focus, funding, and activism of The Ariadne Getty Foundation (AGF)— which Getty herself fondly describes as “a living/breathing entity which evolves just like I do, and just as the world does”—has been in steadfast support of the LGBTQ community since the establishment of the AGF. “I am proud of our work over the last decade in advancing LGBTQ equality. The AGF is committed to continuing our work to ensure every LGBTQ person has the opportunity to lead a meaningful and successful life free of barriers because of who they love or how they express their gender,” said Getty. “I hope there is a day when our work is no longer necessary. Until then, you can find me in the arena.”
For generations to come, The Ariadne Getty Foundation’s sparkling solid aluminum signs perched atop the Youth Academy and the Senior Housing undoubtedly will foster an immense sense of pride and empowerment to all who enter their main doors. Just as remarkable is the woman who has had the Center’s back for eight years—and counting.
“Ari,” said Jean, “is a visionary with a heart of gold.”
• ARIADNE GETTY (MIDDLE) WITH HER TWO CHILDREN AUGUST (LEFT) AND NATS (RIGHT)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARIADNE GETTY FOUNDATION, VISIT: Website: ariadnegettyfdn.org Instagram: @ariadnegettyfdn Facebook: @ariadnegettyfdn
