openhouse was founded in San Francisco in 1998 to break down the barriers preventing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors from accessing housing, health, long-term care and aging-support services. The founders of openhouse recognized that large numbers of LGBT older adults were not being effectively served or even recognized by organizations serving seniors in the long-term care system. Even in San Francisco, a common response from aging-support agencies about LGBT clients and participants was, “we don’t have any people like that here.” Just this year, in seeking to place her transgender sister in a board and care facility, a woman was told, “we wouldn’t know where to put her” as if her sister needed to be segregated from the other residents.

openhouse provides information and referrals to various service agencies in San Francisco and the Bay Area. If you are looking for a particular service, please visit our Community Resources listings or contact Director of Education and Outreach, Michelle Alcedo at 415.296.8995 or email her.

Changing Culture

For decades, thousands of LGBT people have come to San Francisco to find personal freedom and acceptance. Today more than 25,000 LGBT people over 55 live here. As older adults with increasing needs, the pioneers of this migration were (and continue to be) forced “back into the closet” in order to receive quality care or move into residential facilities. They are being forced to relocate, leave dear friends behind, and, all too often, live alone and isolated.

openhouse is changing the culture of long-term care by training service providers to create welcoming, safe and secure environments for the LGBT clients they serve. In 2004 we initiated a widely acclaimed cultural competency training program to help healthcare and aging-service providers recognize and better serve LGBT seniors.

Since 2004, openhouse has trained more than 1,500 service providers from over 150 agencies in San Francisco, Marin, Sacramento, and Los Angeles counties to help them create safe, welcoming and supportive environments for the LGBT people they already serve and the many more who need their services.

openhouse provides trainings in the Bay Area and across the state.  If you are interested in a training, please visit our Resources: Training page or contact Director of Education and Outreach, Michelle Alcedo at 415.296.8995 or email her.

State Law

State law requires all of California’s Area Agencies on Aging to reflect the needs of LGBT older adults in their programs and services. The California Department of Aging (CDA) has recognized the openhouse training program as necessary and effective. CDA invited openhouse to train representatives of California’s Area Agencies on Aging at their annual conference in Los Angeles in 2007. Recognized as a leader in providing these kinds of trainings, openhouse is now consulting with the California Department of Health as it drafts regulations to implement SB 1729, which requires staff in nursing homes and congregate living facilities to be trained on LGBT issues.

Based on five years of experience with these trainings, openhouse has developed an interactive, comprehensive curriculum, toolkit and DVD to train other trainers to carry out the program. The toolkit, funded through a generous grant from The California Endowment, is scheduled for completion in May 2009. Because of its foresight and planning in developing an LGBT cultural competency curriculum and toolkit, openhouse is prepared to train other trainers to implement state law. openhouse is currently seeking funding to expand its training program to reach more service providers and train others on how to train providers. The number of LGBT seniors whose lives and well-being have been (and will be) improved by the openhouse training program is potentially in the thousands.

For more information about California State law, visit our Legislation Resources listing.