The East Las Vegas Community Center was bustling on Nov. 21 — a warm, dry refuge from the cold rainfall outside, with healthy chatter and wafts of food filling the air — as a couple of hundred seniors from Las Vegas’ Ward 3 gathered to share a Thanksgiving lunch.

The event, put on by Las Vegas City Councilwoman Olivia Díaz, was free for seniors in the district to eat, socialize and partake in activities such as raffles and singing. Senior citizens, 65 years and older, are a growing constituency in the United States — by 2030, all surviving Baby Boomers will have reached the age of 65, and 1 in 5 Americans will be above retirement age. 

In interviews with The Nevada Independent, Las Vegas seniors shared what they were grateful for — friends, families, good health — and what challenges they face as they get older — rising costs, health issues, losing friends. 

Betty, 81, and Harlan Alford, 81, were eating dinner near the front of the room with another friend from their retirement community. Harlan said he was grateful for being together with his wife of 62 years and said they were generally well taken care of, with plenty of friends, a roof over their heads and good food. However, he did point to inflation as a concern. 

“Our rents are going to be raised more than our income,” said Harlan, adding that they had to get rid of their car to cover rent and health care costs. Their rent will be increasing by 9 percent or 10 percent this year, and they’re already paying $950 a month, Betty said. 

According to a Harvard housing study, 1 in 3 older Americans are rent-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Like Betty and Harlan, 6.7 million older Americans pay at least half of their income on housing. 

Rosemary Arriola, 81, a former Las Vegas limousine driver, said she’s been fortunate in her life but acknowledged rising costs were a challenge to adjust to. 

“I remember when I was younger, my mother would give me a dollar and she said, ‘Go get a half quart of milk, a loaf of bread and a dozen of eggs,’” Arriola said. 

Her friend 95-year old Alice Hehnke said her local politicians were doing a great job. When asked about how state level politicians were doing, she demurred. 

“Oh, they’re OK,” Henke said, laughing, before continuing on. “No comment.” 

Across the room, Norweta Bryant was sitting with a group of friends from her retirement home. Though none of her friends wanted to be interviewed, Bryant teased them, saying she speaks her mind even if “most people won’t.” 

“I’m grateful to be a 67-year old woman,” Bryant said, adding that she was fortunate to have friends and a loving family. 

Her wish was that politicians would listen more, particularly to older generations who might not have a voice. 

“Sometimes I think they forget about seniors, and seniors now are living to be older than ever,” she said. 

When asked if she thought President Donald Trump was doing a good job, Bryant was succinct:  “Hell no.” She wasn’t happy with Gov. Joe Lombardo either, calling him an expletive that did not do much for women’s rights. Lombardo has described himself as “pro-life,” in support of a 15-week abortion ban but signed legislation in 2023 enshrining abortion protections in the state.  

“I have granddaughters," Bryant said. “He also vetoed capping rents for seniors.” 

At another table, Robert Richardson, 79, said he was incredibly happy with Trump’s second term. Richardson lambasted what he called RINO Republicans, a term meaning Republicans in name only, and Democrats for not thinking about the people who put them into office. 

“People have to start realizing that we went through four years of a government that was destroying this country and now Trump has to spend a little bit of time trying to reverse that,” Richardson said. 

Though many seniors are facing loneliness in their communities, that sentiment was far from the minds of those at the East Las Vegas Community Center where laughter and talk echoed in the hallways.