The openhouse LGBT Cultural Humility Curriculum for Senior Service Providers and its accompanying training program prepare housing and senior service providers to become more culturally sensitive to the LGBT clients they serve and the many more who may need their services.

Reach And Teach is honored to have been selected to help market and distribute the openhouse LGBT Cultural Humility Curriculum for Senior Service Providers. This is an exceptional training package which can help individuals and entire organizations to become more culturally sensitive to, and successful with, providing services to LGBT seniors. It is a comprehensive curriculum with a workbook for individuals and/or workshop attendees, a leader guide which can be used to facilitate training sessions and workshops for small to large groups of attendees, and a DVD which provides personal stories that can be used by individuals or groups.

Pricing depends on whether you plan to use the curriculum as an individual or if you intend to implement it for an organization. Please select the appropriate pricing for your particular use.

About openhouse and the Curriculum

The openhouse LGBT Cultural Humility Curriculum for Senior Service Providers and its accompanying training program prepare housing and senior service providers to become more culturally sensitive to the LGBT clients they serve and the many more who may need their services. Any staff person or volunteer who comes in contact with senior clients as part of his or her responsibilities would benefit from this training – from CEOs to administrative assistants to direct service personnel at every level.

Description of curriculum:

Why This Curriculum is Necessary

Most agencies and organizations that work with seniors acknowledge that their mission is to provide support and services to all seniors who need their assistance. Yet despite increased visibility and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in recent years, older LGBT adults are still a largely invisible and underserved population. Most health providers, social service organizations, housing agencies and nursing homes are simply unaware of LGBT-related aging issues. The consequences for LGBT seniors are immediate and often severe: from isolation to loneliness, to rapid mental and physical decline.

The openhouse LGBT Cultural Humility Curriculum for Senior Service Providers and its accompanying training program prepare senior service providers to become more culturally sensitive to the LGBT clients they already serve and the many more who may need their services. Any staff person or volunteer who comes in contact with senior clients as part of his or her responsibilities would benefit from this training—from CEOs to administrative assistants to direct service personnel at every level.

This curriculum and training will show you how to create a safer space for LGBT seniors to live and thrive. Even then, however, it is important to remember that bigotry and prejudice against LGBT people still exist, and that LGBT seniors lived through periods when such discrimination was the norm (and sometimes the law), not the exception. Therefore, to openly identify as LGBT should always be an individual choice. Even if a senior never identifies as LGBT to staff or other clients, just knowing that he or she could do so will make a difference in their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Curriculum Cost and Openhouse Trainings

Individuals wishing to use the curriculum and DVD for learning to become more culturally sensitive to the LGBT clients they already serve and the many more who may need their services. The price for individual use is $50.00.

Organizations/Institutions that wish to train portions of or their entire staff can purchase the curriculum for $150.00 (provides unlimited use and reproduction rights for staff/volunteers of one organization).

openhouse can also come to your organization and provide in person training. The cost of an on-site training varies based on the size of your organization and budget and ranges between $250 and $3000. Click here to contact the openhouse Director of Education and Outreach to discuss your organization's goals and to set up an on-site training.

About openhouse.org

Housing

In April of 2008 openhouse and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing came to an agreement to build 88 or more units of affordable housing with support services welcoming to and inclusive of LGBT older adults. This historic accomplishment could never have been achieved without openhouse’s leadership, steady resolve and proven ability to educate, persuade and nurture a network of allies.

We recognize that many LGBT seniors can’t afford to wait. They need housing today. That is why we work directly with LGBT seniors every day to help them find affordable, accessible and welcoming housing along with the support services they need to live active and independent lives.

Services

Today’s LGBT seniors, as well as the upcoming Baby Boomers, often do not access the services they need because they fear discrimination and compromised care. When they do access services they are met by providers with little training on how to make LGBT seniors feel welcome or safe.

In addition to training housing and senior service providers, openhouse helps LGBT seniors navigate the complicated system of affordable housing in San Francisco and refers them to appropriate service agencies that are culturally sensitive to their needs.

Community

Hundreds of studies have shown that building community and reducing isolation are key pillars of healthy aging. For the many LGBT seniors without children and other family support, building community is that much more important.

Each year openhouse offers events, discussion groups and social activities attended by hundreds of LGBT seniors. We are helping LGBT seniors become stronger leaders and building a more civically engaged community.

Sample Pages from the Curriculum: Click the links below to view sample sections of the curriculum in PDF format (requires Adobe Acrobat reader).

• Curriculum Table of Contents
• Sample Training Agenda
• It's the Law!
• Statistics

openhouse offers a wide variety of resources and services. For more information about openhouse, click here to visit their web site.