Project Visibility aims to create inclusive communities for LBGTQ+ Older Adults

Boulder County, Colo.- Boulder County Area Agency on Aging recently updated and completed a new Project documentary and accompanying training in 2023. Initially created in 2004 in response to the fear expressed by Rainbow Elders (LGBTQ+/50+) that they would need to retreat in the closet to access assisted living or nursing home care. The new version released this year features Rainbow Elders who are living and experiencing life in Boulder and surrounding counties in Colorado. Rainbow Elders share their stories to make visible the differences that exist within the LGBTQ+ community.

Topics discussed in the documentary includes coming out, family, oppression and discrimination, history and policy, language and terminology, and advice for providers. The training portion follows up on these concepts that can be implemented to create more inclusive communities for LBGTQ+ older adults. The documentary project was funded by the NextFifty Initiative. View the latest Project Visibility: Creating Inclusive Communities for LBGTQ+ Older Adults documentary.

Project Visibility offers “Project Visibility: Person-Centered Care for LBGTQ+ Older Adults” online training. The free 30-minute interactive course is designed for managers and employees of nursing and assisted living homes and home health care agencies. With the goal of co-creating an aging services community that is informed, sensitive to, and supportive of LGBTQ+ older adults, this course reviews LGBTQ+ history and terms, and teaches skills to professions who care for this often-invisible population. Access and register for the Project Visibility online training.

Additionally, Project Visibility offers a Train-the-Trainer course designed for those who have already participated in a Project Visibility training. This course covers learning styles and implicit biases while teaching participants how to present Project Visibility in their own communities. Materials include the Project Visibility manual Train-the-Trainer materials.

For more information about Project Visibility with the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, contact Michael Chifalo at mchifalo@bouldercounty.org.

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