Institute in Florida starts new program to help LGBT-elders

The ElderSource Institute in Jacksonville, Florida has started a new program to help local businesses be more welcoming to LGBT-elders. The LGBT-Elder-Friendly Business Certification will help businesses who have elder lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual customers by giving their staff sensitivity training.

The program comes after the institute found many LGBT-elders were facing discrimination in their everyday lives. Jacksonville.com described what shopping was like for Tricia Russell, a 61-year-old transgender woman from St. Augustine: “…clothing store employees either eyed her suspiciously or closely followed her as she walked around. At a grocery store’s customer service counter, an employee reacted to her masculine voice in a feminine body by relocating to a back room. She was harassed by some members of law enforcement.”

The institute’s vice president of business development and innovation, Heidi Katz, explained the decision to implement the program: “As we all age, we look for and rely on trusted friendships, businesses, and communities where we feel welcome and can age with dignity and independence. Many LGBT seniors go back into the closet because they fear discrimination and harassment as they age.”

The program will include cultural competency training and inclusive business practises that will include: staff training; LGBT-inclusive politics; a public statement of LGBT friendliness and inclusion; other symbols of equality within the workplace, in literature, or on the company’s websites. 

Local businesses who have undergone the program are already giving positive feedback, saying their customers are noticeably more relaxed and comfortable.