2SLGBTQIA+ seniors in B.C.

Interviews & research about the lives,
experiences & needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors

Other cities have housing for Queer seniors.
Why not Vancouver?

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.” Tyee interview (2023).

Chris Morrissey: Creating queer
positive care for seniors

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

Key takeaways:

  • 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 2SLGBTQIA+ communities;

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

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

BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) in association with Vancouver's Dignity Seniors Society (DSS) are collaborating on communication that supports Aging with Pride whereby conditions at home or in a long-term care home or assisted living residence is safe and welcoming for LGBTQ2S+ individuals and couples.

Long-time activist Chris Morrissey speaks openly about the experiences of her and her late partner Bridget with the care system as a lesbian. With great humour and charm, she talks about the importance of having staff and the care setting being queer positive.

Big thanks to Chris and to Darren Usher at DSS for supporting this work.

Learn from Community Champions: What is age and LGBTQ2S+ friendly?

Aging in community:
Focus on older LGBTQ2S+ Canadians

Dignity Seniors Society (DSS) Chairperson Darren Usher joins Lisa Middleton (the mayor of Palm Springs, California and other 2SLGBTQIA+ advocates to discuss aging in community.

Key takeaways:

  • 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 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive;

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

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

Exploring the Why? in 2SLGBTQ+ aging

This video - by Dr. Robert Beringer, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria - introduces professors and students interested in the health, and access to health care, of seniors in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

They discuss research studies, answer questions, and cover the following key takeaways:

  • The importance of research on aging to include the members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities;

  • The negative impacts to people living in the 2SLGBTQIA+ 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 2SLGBTQIA+ training to the people working with older adults in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities;

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

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