For Liz DiCarlo, 77, activism isn’t something separate from everyday life. It is how she lives—seeing a need, stepping forward, and working alongside others to create change.
Now retired after a long career as a registered nurse and community organizer in central North Carolina, New Bedford, and throughout Cape Cod and the islands, Liz and her wife of 38 years, Bev Baccelli, are creating a new chapter together. Retirement has simply given Liz more time to continue the work that matters to her.
Liz grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, in a community where Italian families lived alongside people with different traditions and backgrounds. Her mother was her earliest role model, demonstrating how people could respect their differences while working and playing together. Liz carried that lesson into a lifetime of community action: “I’ll play whatever role needs to be done.”
And she has.
Combining her nursing experience with her skills as a community organizer, Liz helped establish the first street outreach program in her community to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. A grassroots effort to unite women and men against sexual violence grew into a rape crisis center. Decades ago, she organized a campus drop-in center where students could obtain birth control.
Liz has also long been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ equality. When she and Bev first became a couple 38 years ago, they chose to be open about who they were. Liz came to see herself as an ambassador for the lesbian community, helping create understanding through visibility, conversation, and action.
Her belief in bodily autonomy extends through the end of life. Active with Compassion & Choices, Liz advocates for medical aid in dying and for legislation that would make it available in Massachusetts. Affordable housing is another focus: “Everyone is entitled to secure housing,” she says, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and
respect.
Her activism can also be wonderfully practical. Today, Liz contributes to the development of South Coast Massachusetts bike trails and has helped provide more than 400 bicycles to area children.
Liz knows there will come a time when she can no longer do this work herself. So she is already preparing the next generation—encouraging younger people to recognize the issues that matter to them and helping them discover how they, too, can step forward.
“My work wasn’t done in isolation. I worked alongside others who cared about the same issues.”
Perhaps that is the heart of Liz’s story: activism is not only about standing up. It is about standing with others—and leaving behind people who are ready to continue the work.
“Everybody has a right to quality health care. You must advocate for yourself and advocate for one another.” – Elizabeth (Liz) DiCarlo
THANKS TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR, AARP ILLINOIS a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and stronger communities.
Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.
