All the balconies at Kensington Gardens are decorated for Pride.
At Kensington Health, Pride is a chance to celebrate our LGBTQIA2S+* community members, and to acknowledge the need for accepting and safe care, especially in our long-term care home.
Too often, older adults feel that they have to go back into the closet because they fear discrimination from their peers, and even from their care providers. At Kensington, it’s important that everyone in our community is affirmed, and that no one feels they need to hide who they are.
“Celebrating Pride is one of the many ways that we help our residents live their full lives. This is their home, and we need to make sure it is a place they feel safe, welcomed, and proud of who they are,” explained Daisy Wong, Supervisor of Life Enhancement at Kensington Gardens.
Creating an inclusive, thriving space is important to us. We do it for our colleagues, our patients, and residents like Anne.
Anne is a resident at Kensington Gardens.
“Pride is for people who cannot speak for themselves,” said Anne who lives at Kensington Gardens. “At my first Pride there were only 50,000 people and they walked down Church. That’s all there was. And now it’s a parade down Yonge with over one million people. And It’s a month long, not a week.”
Last week, Anne helped decorate the balconies at Kensington with musical accompaniment.
For our queer residents, Pride is a chance to celebrate who they are and for the whole Kensington community to proudly proclaim that everyone is welcome here.
Normally, Kensington hosts a big pride party, but with physical distancing measures, our Pride is going online this year. Throughout the week of June 22nd, join our #KensingtonPride celebrations on our social channels. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
*LGBTQIA2S+ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit. The plus represents the many sexual and gender identities that are not captured in the acronym. The 519’s glossary is a great resource for understanding a wide-range of LGBTQIA2S+ related terms.