Creating Home for All: Advocating for Transgender and Non-Binary Elders

2.5 (2 votes)

Only available as part of a package

N2: Skillbuilding: Creating Home for All: Advocating for Transgender and Non-Binary Elders

This session will increase participants’ ability support Transgender and Gender non-Conforming (TGNC) older adults in senior housing communities. Participants will begin this session by learning about various barriers faced by TGNC older adults in housing communities. Then, participants will learn about how TGNC older adults are impacted by correct pronoun use, safe and accessible bathrooms, gendered language, inclusive intake forms, name changes, and families of choice. Additionally, through case studies and role play activities, participants will learn how to navigate complex conversations around resident-on-resident conflict/discrimination with older adults. Lastly, participants will leave having identified at least one personal goal to increase the safety of TGNC older adults in their communities.

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Identify three barriers faced by Transgender and Gender non-Conforming older adults when accessing housing and while living in older adult housing communities
Demonstrate practices that they can implement to provide increased safety to Transgender and Gender non-Conforming older adults in housing communities
Practice, through case studies and role play activities, the skills to navigate complex situations related to gender identity, safety, community, and housing

Kathleen Zuke, MPH (she/her) (Moderator)

Director, Center for Healthy Aging

National Council on Aging

Kathleen Zuke was privileged to grow up with eight loving grandparents and developed a passion for supportive services for older adults as a caregiver for her grandfather. She has been a Senior Program Manager with the Center for Healthy Aging since 2015. In this role, she works collaboratively with community-based partners across the country to identify, implement, and sustain evidence-based programs that support older adults in staying well and aging in the community, including chronic disease self-management education, falls prevention, and behavioral health. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Hunter College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Thomas Godwin MSW

Assistant Director of the National LGBTQ+ Elder Housing Initiative

SAGE: Services and Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Elders

Thomas Godwin (they/them) is the Assistant Director of the National LGBTQ+ Elder Housing Initiative. They have their Masters in Social Work from Saint Louis University, with a concentration in Clinical Practice. Prior to working with the National LGBTQ+ Elder Housing Initiative, Thomas has experience working in mental health crisis care, project management, and nonprofit development. They also have experience as a facilitator and educator for the Alzheimer’s Association. Thomas has also served as a consultant and educator for organizations around issues of sex education, relationships, gender identity, and sexuality. Thomas is passionate about cultivating LGBTQ+ joy and exploring state parks in Missouri.