General 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors

Interviews and Research

About the lives and experiences and needs of 2SLGBTQI+ seniors.

Other Cities Have Housing for Queer Seniors. Why Not Vancouver?

Interview with the Tyee written by Tegwyn Hughes, A generation that faced intense discrimination is ‘now just trying to find a safe, affirming, affordable place to live at the end of their lives.’ (2023) https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/03/15/Vancouver-Housing-For-Queer-Seniors/

Chris Morrissey interview: Creating queer positive care for seniors.

Chris Morrissey interview: Creating queer positive care for seniors.

Chris Morrissey shares her experience of home care, long-term care homes, and facilities inclusiveness and welcomeness towards the members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities. She is a long-time advocate and activist for the rights of queer people. Key takeaways below:

  • The experience of having a queer positive support worker,

  • The experience of receiving services being in a same sex relationship,

  • Anxiety experienced by service users unsure of the welcomeness of a long-term care facility,

  • Ways long term care homes and facilities can show that they are inclusive and welcoming to members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities,

  • Why the generation that is now over 70 years old, may not feel safe to come out of the closet,

  • How Dogwood provides and opportunity for safety of LGBT people within a larger facility.

Aging in community: a focus on older LGBTQ2S+ Canadians

In this video DSS Darren Usher participates in a panel discussion with the Mayor of Palm Springs and other 2SLGBTQ+ advocates.

In this video DSS Chairperson Darren Usher joins Lisa Middleton, the mayor of Palm Springs California and other LGBTQ2SI+ advocates to dicsuss aging in community.

Take aways include:

  • Ways communities connect,

  • Importance of respecting of our elders,  

  • Creating a relationship of trust with clients,

  • How long-term care and assisted living facilities can be 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive,

  • Understanding why older adults may conceal their identity or avoid programs,

  • How to make policies that are 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive.

Robert Beringer - Exploring the why

A video with Robert Beringer: Exploring the Why.

In this video we are introduced to professors and students interested in the health and access of health care of seniors in the 2SLGBTQI+ communities. They  discuss research studies, answer questions, and cover the following takeaways:

  • The importance of research on aging to include the members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities,

  • The negative impacts to people living in the 2SLGBTQI+ communities in the presence of heteronormative assumptions; equally important the presence of resilience,

  • How to find a point of entry into long term care homes and the health care system to offer 2SLGBTQI+ training to the people working with older adults in 2SLGBTQI+ communities,

  • Acknowledging the challenge members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities face when living in a shared space with people that are homophobic,

  • How 2SLGBTQI+ people intersect with and are impacted by the social determinants of health.