The Seniors Gay Straight Alliance is going strong four years after becoming the first group of its kind in Canada.
Vance McFadyen, a co-founder of the alliance, said community members are invited to attend a fourth anniversary celebration of the Century House Seniors Gay Straight Alliance on Wednesday, June 8 at 1 p.m. at Century House.
“We have had lots of special speakers from various organizations, we have had transgender people come in and tell their story and that type of thing,” he said. “It’s primarily educational and a sharing of stories and understanding of people.”
McFadyen said a number of straight people who regularly attend the group’s meetings have stated how much they have learned and how the group has contributed to a greater understanding of the issues of gay seniors.
“It’s been really positive,” he said. “We anticipated there might be ‘why are you having these people come?’ kind of thing. There has never been a single complaint. We have actually received full support from the membership and the executive.”
McFadyen said a couple staff from Century House and a seniors’ peer counsellor attended a conference in California a few years ago and saw Gen Silent, an LGBT aging documentary.
“We decided to show it at Century House,” he recalled. “We had over 200 people attend. It was really good. Through discussions we decided we were going to start this Seniors Gay Straight Alliance at Century House.”
McFadyen, who was also the founder of New West Pride, is proud of the group’s contributions to the community in the past four years.
“It is the first one ever in Canada in a seniors recreation centre,” he noted. “We have been going steady for four years now. We usually have between 12 and 20 people to each meeting. There’s a lot of education and group discussions.”
McFadyen estimates half of the attendees are gay and half are straight.
“It’s been very, very educational for everybody, but especially for some of the straight folks,” he said. “It’s been very successful.”
Anyone wishing to celebrate the group’s anniversary is welcome to attend the June 8 potluck tea-and-treats event. The first half hour will include planning for the group’s second annual Senior Pride Hoedown at Century House as part of Pride Week in August, followed by a social.
