Project Visibility© Online Training!
“Project Visibility: Person-Centered Care for LGBTQ+ Older Adults” is now available 24/7 as an online training. This free 30-minute interactive course is designed for managers and employees of nursing and assisted living homes, and home health care agencies. The goal of Project Visibility is to co-create an aging services community that is informed, sensitive to, and supportive of LGBTQ+ elders.
The course reviews LGBTQ+ history and terms, and teaches skills we hope will open the hearts and minds of those caring for this often invisible population. These skills include:
- Make no assumptions
- Ask open-ended questions
- Affirm resident rights
The following video is a trailer for the Project Visibility online training.
Access the full Project Visibility Online Training here.
A Little History about Project Visibility©
The Boulder County Area Agency on Aging launched Project Visibility in 2004, after conducting extensive focus groups with area LGBTQ+ older adults. These folks wondered which service providers were “safe and friendly” and feared many could be unwelcoming, or even hostile.
Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ elders are four times less likely to have children, and twice as likely to live alone, yet are five times less likely to access senior services than their heterosexual peers. This lack of support increases the risk of depression, substance abuse, unnecessary institutionalization and premature death (www.SAGEUSA.org). It is currently estimated that there are between one and three million Americans over 65 that identify as LGBTQ+. As baby boomers age, this number will reach three to seven million by 2030. In Boulder County, we estimate that there are over 3,200 LGBTQ+ adults 60 years or older.
Project Visibility Trainings and Materials
The Project Visibility training is designed for managers and employees of nursing homes, assisted living residences, home care agencies, and other senior service providers, as well as the friends and families of LGBTQ+ elders. The training’s cornerstone is a 21-minute, or abridged 13-minute, film in which LGBTQ+ people speak about their lives, their strengths, wishes, and concerns about the aging services network. A presentation helps to guide the discussion. An accompanying manual provides history, background information, terminology, resources, and practical suggestions for providing culturally-competent care and services. Trainees will learn the simple necessary steps to ensure that their service or agency is LGBTQ+ inclusive. These easy-to-use materials have been sold to agencies in 30 states and several other countries; a Train-the-Trainer Manual is also available.
For further information on Project Visibility or to request a free, customized, in-house training, please contact Michael Chifalo at mchifalo@bouldercounty.org. Trainings can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as three hours.
Train the Trainer
Designed for those who have already taken a Project Visibility community or in house training, this half-day course covers how to present a Project Visibility training complete with access to the films, a training book, and a trainer guide.
For more information please contact Michael Chifalo at mchifalo@bouldercounty.org.
Project Visibility is a program of Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, ©2021 www.projectvisibility.org.
Project Visibility was developed by Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, a county government organization in Boulder County, Colorado. Project Visibility is funded and supported in part by Boulder County Area Agency on Aging; Aging Services Foundation of Boulder County; David Ensign Charitable Fund; Fairfield County Community Foundation – donor advised fund; Jared Polis Foundation; Open Door Fund of the Community Foundation of Boulder County; and the Daily Camera.
