Research

Dignity Seniors Society (DSS) values research that highlights the
needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors, and the best practices to serve them.

DSS aims to partner with, promote, and
support 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors research.

2SLGBTQIA+ seniors’ research at DSS

Dignity Seniors Society (DSS)’s volunteers, community-building, collaboration, and research (surveys; pilot programs; projects) inform our advocacy and service to 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors in British Columbia.

Building 2S/LGBTQIA+ Seniors’ Social Inclusion through Collaborative Community Leadership

Timeline: 5 Years (2025 - 2030)
Target Group: 2S/LGBTQIA+ seniors (age 55+) in Metro Vancouver 

Many older adults in Metro Vancouver face social isolation, but 2S/LGBTQIA+ seniors encounter additional challenges, ranging from family estrangement to HIV-related stigma in care homes. In response, our Building 2S/LGBTQIA+ Seniors’ Social Inclusion through Collaborative Community Leadership project aims to strengthen social ties, develop new programming, and improve institutional policies for 2S/LGBTQIA+ seniors.

Over five years, the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC), in collaboration with Dignity Seniors Society and Ribbon Community, will coordinate a coalition of 15 organizations working toward a shared goal: ensuring seniors themselves take center stage in designing interventions that create meaningful outcomes (“not us, without us”).

Our approach is a collective impact model - a network of community members, organizations, and institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems-level change.

Through ongoing evaluation and knowledge-sharing, the project aims to generate new evidence for the entire sector, demonstrating how local, community-driven solutions can reduce isolation & significantly improve quality of life.

Seniors’ resources / Community-based research

Here we share DSS and other important research that impacts our 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors’ communities in B.C., under the four pillars of DSS:

With strict criteria, DSS also accepts requests from researchers we support.

Aging with Affirmation 

Aging with Affirmation is a study to examine the social service experiences and needs of older transgender and gender-diverse adults in Canada

This work is led by our close colleague and trans researcher, Hannah Kia, an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work, in partnership with Egale Canada.

In this project we aim to hear from older trans and gender-diverse older adults, as well as community-based advocates and activists, policymakers, and service providers located in Canada.