August 2017 Rainbow Elders Newsletter

Boulder County Colorado sent this bulletin at 08/08/2017 04:55 PM MDT

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August 2017 | Rainbow Elders Newsletter

Welcome, Beit Gorski

Beit has officially landed as the new LGBT Program Specialist for the BCAAA (Boulder County Area Agency on Aging) and xe is excited to continue development of Project Visibility (training for care providers of LGBT older adults) in addition to supporting and expanding programming for the Rainbow Elders of Boulder County.

Beit graduated from Naropa University in 2013 with an M.A. in Somatic Counseling Psychology and xe has been working in a variety of crisis positions (domestic violence advocacy, emergency psychiatric services, and trauma counseling) in addition to developing gender diversity trainings for medical and social service communities. Xe lives in a 4-generation household in Longmont with one of xyr partners and his extended family. Xe is giving xemself time to settle into xyr office in the Sundquist building before inviting drop-in visitors but xe warmly welcomes email (bgorski@bouldercounty.org) in the meantime. Xe hopes to see you all at the next Supper Club!

LGBTQ Community Pulls Together Following Proposed Transgender Military Ban

Last month, President Trump issued a series of tweets indicating a pending ban on transgender service personnel in the military and suggested that transgender service members are a burden to the system and not fit to serve. Our communities and allies seemed to take a collective breath before showing up to organize protests and calling our representatives to express outrage. While not shocking to us, this proposed ban is the latest indicator that, now more than ever, our communities need to come together to take a strong stand against discrimination and bigotry and to prioritize ending all forms of violence against transgender individuals.

In light of these upsetting developments, let's take the time to remind each other that we ARE in community together and that we care for and support each other in groups and one-on-one. In addition, here are important numbers to keep handy for those moments when we need advocacy, encouragement, or even just a boost to push through to better times.

Nationally:

Tran Lifeline: 877-565-8860

SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline: 888-234-SAGE (7243)

LGBT National Hotline 888-843-4564

Locally:

SOL (Survivors Organizing Liberation) 888-557-4441

Out Boulder 303-499-5777

BCAAA LGBT Line: 303-441-4518

Upcoming Events

Wednesday August 9

morning

Rainbow Elders Coffee Klatch - contact Gladys Lopez for details (glopezsf@aol.com)

Thursday August 10 5:30pm

Rainbow Elders Supper Club @ Dickens Tavern in Longmont

Wednesday Sept. 6 5:30pm

Rainbow Elders LGBTQ and Allies Mixer, celebrating Boulder Pride Week @ Golden West Senior Living- Aspen Room Penthouse Level

Sunday Sept. 10 10:45am

Boulder PrideFest Visibility March @ the Bandshell in Boulder Central Park

Coming Soon: 2017 Rainbow Elders Survey

Beginning August 9, we will be distributing a new survey to capture feedback and demographic information from the Rainbow Elders of Boulder County. Your responses will be anonymous and will help us to ensure that we are providing the programming and services needed in the best possible ways.

Whether you access it from your email or on Facebook, we hope you'll share it with any and all LGBTQ older adults, friends, and family who are over 50 and may be willing to take the survey. We will offer the survey on paper as well at upcoming events such as the Supper Club and Pride Week Mixer.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Boulder Pride is Coming!

Out Boulder County has announced the schedule of events for the 2017 Boulder Pride Week (Sept 5-10)!

Kicking off the week is a film screening of "Real Boy" at the Dairy Arts Center (a coming of age gender exploration and transition story).

Next is FACETS (a LGBTQIA+ youth talent show for LGBTQIA+ and allied youth ages 13-25) at Shine on Wednesday night.

It's worth noting that the Family Building Seminar (featuring a panel of experts) tends to fill up rather quickly so RSVP now!

We are excited that Mark Holdbrooks (a BCAAA event volunteer) has produced a Rainbow Elders Mixer for Pride Week (hosted by Golden West), offering a fun and affirming space for LGBTQ older adults and allies to connect (all generations welcome). RSVP to the FaceBook event http://www.facebook.com/events/1596714793674305

Wrapping up the week and launching into the weekend, be sure to check out the Happy Hour, Dance Party, Big Gay 5K, and Visibility March!

Check out the full schedule

Becoming a Pro at Pronouns

Grammar may not have a reputation of being much fun but when it comes to respecting gender diversity, a little grammar can go a long way! Here’s a quick intro with plenty of links for further reading.

“I want to be respectful but I don’t understand” is a common response to being asked to use unfamiliar gender words, such as pronouns (here’s an old school reminder of what a pronoun is). As our offices, classrooms, families, and congregations become more inclusive of all gender identities and expressions, pronouns are a great place to start. Using they/their/ them pronouns when you don’t know how someone identifies is a good general rule (strict grammarians who feel resistance can gain support here) and most of us already do this without realizing it. However, using the correctly gendered pronoun for transgender and nonbinary people can be affirming in ways that are nothing less than life-saving.

While many genderqueer and nonbinary are accustomed to helping others use the pronouns that they find affirming and respectful (such as they/ their/ them or xe/ xyr/ xem), it is usually appreciated when folks helping each other practice.

Here’s a sample sentence to get you started: Beit has a pronoun guide at xyr desk because xe knows people want to respect xem and because xe respects xemself.

The LGBT Programs of the BCAAA receive support from:

the Dave Ensign Charitable Foundation and many individual donors like you.

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