In 2009, Fondation Émergence set up a program for professionals working with seniors to make them aware of the realities of 2SLGBTQ+ people. Because it is important to eliminate all forms of discrimination against these seniors, who wish to be able to age while respecting their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Fifteen years later, the need to continue is still there. Since the creation of So that aging is cheerful, hospitals, seniors’ residences and senior organizations have used the training offered by Fondation Émergence. A 2-hour training course which, among other things, defines concepts related to gender diversity and plurality, provides an overview of the evolution of 2SLGBTQ+ rights, then presents good practices so that the environments in which people could evolve elders in the community are more inclusive, that is to say free from all forms of homophobia and transphobia.
And this must start from the first meeting with an older person. Indeed, it is essential not to take for granted that she is necessarily heterosexual and to be careful not to make inappropriate remarks about gender presentation. Furthermore, we must also offer them a framework, in the community organization or public institution, where they can flourish without fearing certain remarks or certain actions on the part of the staff or other seniors, who would force them to go back into the closet or make themselves invisible. It is therefore important to clearly identify all levels of discrimination.
The Making Aging Happy training is supported by a well-documented information guide, an essential tool to refer to in order to be able to adopt the best behaviors. Once the training has been completed, the community organization or public institution can have the Charter of Good Treatment adopted by resolution, which summarizes in eleven principles what good treatment and the inclusion of seniors of sexual and gender diversity should be. . This charter can then be printed and displayed in their premises.
If the Charter has been adopted by community organizations, organizations (for example unions and professional orders) or public institutions as well as by political parties, it is essential to continue efforts to raise awareness among all stakeholders, who have seniors as their clientele, to the importance of this training. Julien Rougerie, who is at the head of this program offered without obligation since 2017, recalls that the training is given by invitation and that an organization, whether public or private, can use the services of Fondation Émergence. Julien Rougerie is increasing initiatives to cover all areas that affect seniors in our communities. Among other things, in 2019, we turned to the issue of caregivers, a reality that was poorly understood at the time. Many 2SLGBTQ+ seniors only have friends as significant people around them
And when the situation requires it, it is these friends who come to their aid. “We see that LGBTQ+ people who help a loved one experience a lot of isolation. Among other things, they suffer from not being able to share their experience and their practices with other LGBTQ+ caregivers,” recalled Julien Rougerie in Fugues in November 2023. And in the process, the program So that aging is gay was expanded with the creation of a “chosen family” Facebook group which aims to build an entire network and thus encourage sharing. The Making Aging Happy training is available in French and English and is aimed at all people or organizations across Canada, but it is in Quebec that it is best known and most delivered.
“Laurent McCutcheon and I were driven by the fear that the elders of our communities would return, with age, to the closet, and that is how this program was born,” recalls Martine Roy, regional director, development of 2SLGBTQ+ Quebec & Eastern Canada affairs for the TD Bank Group (also president of the LGBT Purge Fund, in addition to being former president of Fondation Émergence).
From 2020, guided by its values of diversity and inclusion, the TD Bank Group therefore helped finance the program. “When I arrived in 2020, TD donated $60,000 to the Foundation to support Making Aging Happy,” continues Martine Roy. “This is an example that could be followed by other companies to whom we must make this program known. I would also like to meet them to talk to them about the program and invite them to support it financially. »
The program, which operates in part thanks to the participation of volunteers, who provide training under the direction of Julien Rougerie, could greatly benefit from broader funding than the subsidies granted by governments. The well-being of the oldest members of our communities is at stake.
INFO | https://www.fondationemergence.org/pourquevieillirsoitgai
https://www.td.com/ca/en/businesses/small-business/businesses-2elgbtq
