Registration required by Sept. 6

Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County Area Agency on Aging is hosting a Project Visibility community-based
training on Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Longmont.

This workshop is designed
to educate professional service care providers, community members, and friends
and family members about the particular needs and strengths of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders.

What: Project
Visibility: Person-centered care for LGBT elders
When: Tuesday,
Sept. 13, 9:15 a.m. – 3 p.m., with a one hour lunch
Where: Longmont
Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont
Cost: Free
of charge, though advance registration is required

Project Visibility is an award
winning training program developed by Boulder County Area Agency on Aging,
after they conducted extensive focus groups with area LGBT older adults.

Despite rights advances, LGBT
older adults still worry about feeling forced back into the closet to receive
the care they need. Commonly, living in long term care homes, LGBT elders face
a wall of assumptions about who they are and the lives they have led.

LGBT
Program Specialist and trainer Nancy Grimes shares, “LGBT older adults lived in
a time during which overt discrimination toward them was commonplace. Far fewer
legal protections meant little recourse when their housing, jobs, and basic
safety were threatened. Respectful care for LGBT elders involves an
appreciation for the strengths and needs that accompany such history.”

Participants will view a short award-winning film in which elders speak about
their lives, their strengths, wishes, and concerns about the aging services
network. Trainees will gain tools and practice skills for creating
welcoming environments, anticipating the questions and concerns of LGBT older
adults, and intervening when discrimination or hostility occurs. Each participant will receive a resource-paced manual.

For information or to
register, contact Ash Bell, 303-441-4518 or ashbell@bouldercounty.org. The deadline
to register is noon on Tuesday, Sept. 6.