2022 was a year of reconstruction and growth for West of 50. Our team set goals to pump up participation, engage the community through innovation and creativity, and have fun. We refreshed old community groups and introduced a new feel to our programming that embraced creative aging, fostered community, and sparked joy.

A crucial step towards achieving the program’s goals for the year was the hire of Bryant Mehay, our new Elder Services Coordinator. In addition to aiding with West of 50’s goals for the year, Bryant began exploring the concept of introducing programming for people with disabilities.

West of 50 also went through a rebrand in 2022, as SAGE USA changed their relationship with community centers across the country. As we embarked on the rebranding journey, we included the community in every step of the process. We hosted several open-door sessions, both online and in-person, to inform the community about why we needed to change the program name and gathered ideas for a new program name from community members. Through the open-door sessions and three different surveys, we hosted a name reveal party to announce and celebrate West of 50 as the new program name.

Throughout the year, the program worked to further its partnerships with other community organizations. Notably, West of 50 expanded its alliance with the Denver Art Museum (DAM). We worked together to build out the DAM’s older adult program. West of 50’s engagement with the museum fostered much buzz in the local art community, and meant the world to our community members. During the week of 2022 Denver Pride, DAM and West of 50 launched an art exhibition titled “Queer Creativity Through the Ages: Artwork from The Center on Colfax Open Art Studio”. The exhibition was housed within the DAM’s Creative Hub, and showcased art pieces created by 15 of our community members.

The West of 50 team also activated several new engagements for the community to attend. The Queer Woke Speaker Series was introduced and focused on educating the community on diversity and acceptance. We hosted three Queer Woke events, welcoming 31 community members. The AARP Community Group rolled out its Eye of the Beholder Speaker Series. This three-part series brought 70 people to The Center. The AARP group also introduced drag game programming, with games hosted at The Center, in retirement homes, and at Denver PrideFest. These engagements were put on by community members from the West of 50 program.

The AARP Community Group also assisted with the reactivation of the Tea Dance. The event was moved to the week of Denver Pride and included drag performances, a live DJ, food, and drinks. In its first year back, the Tea Dance welcomed 56 people, 34 of which were new visitors to The Center.

As the end of the year approached, we hosted our Thankful 4U Thanksgiving Luncheon. We welcomed 80 older adults to the communal thanksgiving meal. The 2022 rendition of this annual event was the highest attended event in the program’s history. We introduced new concepts to the event including the Thankful 4U Award Presentation, live singers, and community building activities, all while keeping the food quality at the forefront.

In total, West of 50 hosted 79 events and welcomed 1,313 individuals to our programming. We also saw 3,186 duplicate check-ins to our groups, showing us that our community members were engaged by our programming and returned to The Center after their first visit. The program’s most popular groups were Silver Sneakers Yoga, Telling Your Story, Older Wiser Sexually Smarter, and Men’s Coffee.

In the spring of 2022, the program rolled out a survey focused on programming for people with disabilities. After learning what our community members were looking for, the West of 50 team began building the concept for the Disability Program. The goal of this program is to engage and empower LGBTQ+ adults with disabilities, reduce social isolation, and build community, thus improving the overall health and wellbeing of our community members. In August, we launched a weekly Disability Peer Support Group. The Disability Program also participated in a community outing to the Denver Art Museum.

The work we completed and the foundations we built in 2022 set up West of 50 and the budding Disability Program to continue our growth, community expansion, and new collaborations in 2023.