Northwood director says 'fear' can keep seniors silent

It's 2015, not 1965.

But for some gay seniors it can feel like a time warp when entering long-term care. You're entering a home surrounded by older residents, some of whom may hold long-entrenched views about homosexuality, people who will be in the same dining hall, at music nights and at fitness activities.

Josie Ryan, the executive director of In Care Living at Northwood, Halifax's largest continuing care facility, says the possibility of facing discrimination may cause some residents to hide their sexual orientation, instead of coming out, again. Especially, she says, because coming out the first time likely would've happened during a less tolerant time.

"It would be almost re-living that event because ... the seniors that we have in our population are from those days. So that was what they grew up with, that was what they came out into. So the potential of having those same repercussions would bring fear."

Northwood is trying to create a safe space for all of its seniors. Ryan says the effort started about seven years ago, when members of the city's gay community approached the facility. She says they were concerned that seniors would feel the need to hide their lifestyle and go back into the closet out of concern they'd face discrimination from other residents.

She points to the facility's diversity strategy as a key element in building a gay-friendly environment. The institution also works closely with the research community and has ties to the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Coalition, she says.

Two years ago, an attempt by a church to build a gay-friendly seniors' complex in the city was shot down out of concern the development was too large for a residential neighbourhood. But whether Northwood could fill that void by creating a gay wing is complicated by the fact that is a publicly funded facility that must fill its beds.

Special wing at Northwood?

In the past, Northwood attempted to create a wing that addressed the needs of its deaf residents. But that unit was closed in part of because not all of the beds were filled, says Ryan.

But Ryan says that experience doesn't necessarily close the door to creating a wing specifically for gay residents if the community asked for it.

"So we'd have to do research and talk to the community and make sure they were open to having a segregated unit. And if they were open to having a segregated unit, what could we do to make sure that that happens or to influence how that happens."

Tomorrow, Northwood will be participating in the Halifax Pride Parade. It will be the fifth time it's joined the event. Northwood is also proudly flying the Pride flag, which she admits has generated a small backlash from a few residents. But, that's being turned into an opportunity to educate, she says.

"For the most part, [it's been] very, very positive. And if there are negative reactions then we do address that negative reaction, saying that we are an inclusive community. So no different that LGBT community, racial community, we are an open community and we strive to be inclusive."