DSS: Latest news
DSS: Recent news
Dignity Seniors Society: Call For Board Directors
Dignity Seniors Society (DSS) provides information, advocacy and collaborations that strengthen 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors’ wellness, connections and supports.
Join our Board of Directors and employ your strategic and analytic skills to make decisions and contributions that both direct DSS’s trajectory, and make a difference in your community! 😀
Website: https://www.dignityseniors.org
E-mail: volunteer@dignityseniors.org
Social media links at the top/bottom of our website
Poster (please share and post)
DSS is dedicated to affecting systemic change
that creates culturally appropriate services
for 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors across British Columbia.
We acknowledge that our current work is primarily conducted on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and that our Board members live and work on unceded territories across British Columbia.
We acknowledge the colonial harms inflicted on Indigenous Peoples and commit to genuine and ongoing work to forge real understanding, and to challenge the legacies of colonialism. We value the unique cultures of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and particularly support all efforts of reconciliation for our Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer community members.
DSS Spring 2025 Newsletter
Hot off the press! View our Spring 2025 Newsletter here ( pdf copy )! 📰
A note from the Chair of DSS:
Living under the dark clouds of ignorance & hate
Our newsletters are designed to inform you of all the good work we're doing and bring hope and positive news to our communities. But I start this newsletter with a different tone, reflecting the current political events of our neighbors to the South.
I, and many of my colleagues and friends, have spent most of our careers trying to push the needle to a point where society values all of its complexity and gives voice and space to everyone including our 2SLGBTQIA+ plus communities. To experience a Western democracy enact binary legislation is nothing more than shocking for us, which - in the words of my dear friend and DSS board member Dr. Victoria A. Stuart , Ph.D. - is tantamount to "trans genocide" (transgenocide).
I urge community members to rally in support of our trans and nonbinary communities, for it is only through mutual liberation that we can all achieve social equity and be valued as part of a complex social system.
…
Funding Announcement: WAGE
On 2025-Jan-31 Dignity Seniors Society (DSS, participating online) joined many other organizations in Montreal to hear Lisa Hepfner (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth) announce up to $41.5 million for 106 projects across four different 2SLGBTQIA+ funds.
This funding will advance equality for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across Canada and address the rise in hate.
DSS is honored to be chosen as one of the recipients of Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) funding and thank them for their continued support of our important work.
Click here to read the full announcement.
Q-Elders Project: Call for nominations, 2025
In 2024 Dignity Seniors Society (DSS) launched the Q-Elders Project with the celebration of five courageous and inspirational 2SLGBTQIA+ elders.
DSS is inviting nominations from our communities to identify the next cohort of Q-Elders. Who do you wish to honour for their leadership, altruism, and courage?
Nominees must:
identify as part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
be a resident of British Columbia
be living at the time of nomination (no posthumous nominations)
meet the definition of a Q-Elder per the project’s Terms of Reference
DSS strives to include 2SLGBTQIA+ elders in B.C. with diverse identities, backgrounds and experiences.
To nominate someone, please see our Guidelines for more information.
Deadline for nominations is April 15, 2025.
If you have questions, please contact info@dignityseniors.org
This year’s Q-Elders will be announced in June 2025 to coincide with the anniversary of the Stonewall Revolution.
DSS Fall 2024 Newsletter
Fall is here and the end of year is fast approaching, and it feels like elections are the hot topic. We hope you managed to get out to vote in the BC election and that you caught the great work put into the election candidate survey by our friends at Advocacy Canada.
Our Fall 2024 Newsletter is designed to keep you informed of all the great work we are doing at Dignity Seniors Society and the work of our partner organizations that affect 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors' care. ...
We are also proud to announce the launch of a new national collaboration in November, of which DSS was a founding member. DSS Board members work hard with a group of amazing people from Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan to develop a solid foundation of policies and procedures that would guide the work of the Senior Pride Network Canada / Réseau de la Fierté des Aîné·e·s du Canada (SPNC/RFAC). ... SPNC/RFAC has looked to its well-resourced sister organization SAGE in the U.S. for inspiration and guidance. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting coalition of over twenty frontline 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors' serving organizations.
Other highlights in the Fall Newsletter
• Welcome New DSS Board Directors
• QMUNITY's Legacy in Bloom: Honouring Our Elders' Stories
• Fall is Conference Season
• New Resources For You To Explore
• United Voices Against Hate and Oppression