Training & Transformation
Changing aging services through our LGBTQ+ Aging Cultural Humility trainings and more.
Support for Communities
Openhouse’s trainings provide service providers with information on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer older adults.
Using an intersectional lens--a lens of equity and cultural humility--our goal is to educate participants on the life experiences, health disparities, and barriers to care affecting LGBTQ+ older adults, and equip participants with information and tools to provide adequate and comprehensive support to LGBTQ+ older adults.
To request training, please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Please give a window of 2-3 weeks between the date of your request and the date of the training so we can meet your facilitation needs.
Support for Organizations
Our training program lays the groundwork for your staff to become allies and advocates for your LGBTQ+ older adults clients, residents, caregivers, and community members.
Our trainings explore:
Cultural Humility with LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Practical Applications: Case Studies of Incidents and Interventions
Restructuring Inclusion: Better Practices for working with LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Required Demographic Information Collection: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)
Who We Train
Staff at all agencies and organizations serving older adults, including administrators of long-term care facilities, those who provide direct services, administrative services, home care, practical support, and other critical functions. When appropriate, we can also present to community groups, program participants, senior housing residents, volunteers, or interns.
Openhouse will continue working with your agency and staff after the training and we will be available for ongoing technical assistance and support.
Our Training Programs
Intro to Cultural Humility
Duration: 2 hours (available in English and Spanish)
Familiarizing ourselves with LGBTQ+ terminology
Understanding the historical landscape that has influenced the experiences of LGBTQ+ elders
Recognizing barriers to care
Processing how internal biases can show up at work
SO/GI Data Collection: Making the ‘Invisible’ Visible
Duration: 90-minutes (available in English and Spanish)
What is (SO/GI) Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity data? And why is it important?
Pushing through provider/staff discomfort
Best-practice recommendations when working with and collecting LGBTQ+ individuals demographic information
Overview of LGBTQ+ and Dementia-Care Issues
Duration: 90 minutes (available in English and Spanish)
What is dementia?
Understanding the needs and challenges unique to members of the LGBTQ+ community who have Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia
Best-practice recommendations for working with LGBTQ+ individuals living with dementia and their care partners
Effective Communication Strategies for LGBTQ+ People Living with Dementia
Duration: 90 minutes (available in English and Spanish)
Overview of the communication changes that take place throughout the course of the disease
Identify strategies to connect and communicate at each stage of the disease
Learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by LGBTQ individuals with dementia and respond in ways that are helpful to them
You’re Invited: Book A Training Today!
We invite you to meet with one of our staff and talk about the ways Openhouse can support your organization in learning and better serving LGBTQ seniors.
Organizational Transformation
Readiness Assessment: Determine areas of strength and areas of improvement regarding LGBTQ+ senior care at your organization.
Restructuring Inclusion: Strategic Planning for implementing Best Practices
Responding to Harm: How to Handle Ongoing or Acute Incidents of Transphobia, Biphobia or Homophobia
Recommendations for Electronic Records Systems
Re-evaluating the Intake Process
Culture Shift – Moving Care of LGBTQ Older Adults From the Margins to the Center
Facility Walkthroughs: Making the Physical Space More LGBTQ-Welcoming
To set up an assessment for your organization, please reach out to Openhouse Director of Strategic Partnerships and Education, Carla Peña, cpena@openhousesf.org
These programs servicing the community are funded by the City and County of San Francisco's Department of Disability and Aging Services.
