Raising awareness and fostering welcoming environments for our seniors
For more than 12 years, Aging Gayfully has defended the rights of LGBTQ+ seniors, offering tools and training sessions to those who support them.
Consult our directory of organizations that have signed our Charter for the fair treatment of LGBT seniors.
Posters, guides, videos, and other resources to make your community more inclusive.
To raise awareness and answer common questions.
TRAINING CONTENT
The Aging Gayfully training is FREE and lasts 2 hours. It includes: an overview of the concepts of sexual and gender diversity; the evolution of LGBT rights and their impact on different generations; good practices to make environments more inclusive for LGBT seniors; and a testimonial from an LGBT senior about their life experiences.
Upcoming events
Wed, Aug 24Workshop by videoconference
Thu, Sept 15Workshop by videoconference
Tue, Oct 18Workshop by videoconference
Thu, Nov 17Workshop by videoconference
Thu, Dec 08Workshop by videoconference- Tue, Jul 05Workshop by videoconference
Awareness material
Charter of fair treatment
The charter can be displayed in places where seniors meet. It signals your organization’s commitment to the eleven principles of fair treatment to foster a homophobia and transphobia-free environment. To join our list of signatories, your organization must first take the training, and then have the charter formally adopted by your Board of Directors.
Charter of fair treatment
Why focusing on LGBT seniors?
While an estimated 10% of seniors are LGBT, they remain largely invisible, often for fear of disclosing their homosexuality or transidentity.
Many have been forced into hiding during their lives to avoid prison, therapy, or rejection from their families, religious communities and society as a whole.
Such rejection and prejudice has left its mark, and several studies confirm that LGBT seniors constitute a particularly vulnerable population. Though it might be less evident than in the past, the stigma and prejudice suffered by LGBT people persists today. For many, aging gives rise to the fear that they will be isolated in an unwelcoming environment, because they are perceived as being different.
This is why Fondation Émergence has been committed for more than 10 years to making seniors' communities more inclusive.
To ensure that our training course and tools stay relevant and accurate, we work in collaboration with LGBT seniors (the working group) and key stakeholders in senior services (the advisory committee).
The Duty Of Rememberance Project
The Duty Of Rememberance Project, which is part of the Aging Gayfully program, honours the contribution of activists who have fought to improve the situation for LGBTQ+ people in Quebec.
In the media
Articles
Prevention objective - flight. 41 n 3 2018: Seniors well served , by Benoit Gorez and Lucie Legault. Read the article
FADOQ - Virage Magazine, fall 2017 : Aging gay, with dignity , by Sophie Gagnon Read the article
Journal de Montréal, September 17, 2017: Cohabitation between heterosexuals and gays in a residence , by Magalie Lapointe Read the article
AREQ - What's new ?, fall 2017: So that aging is cheerful , Fondation Émergence
Huffington Post - "If I can't talk about the women I've loved, then I'm already being buried" - 08/12/2019 Read the article
Huffington Post - "Being a senior and LGBTQ +: when ageism meets homophobia and transphobia" - 09/14/2019 Read the article