Yesterday, we began a fascinating conversation with Joy Silver, president of RainbowVision Properties, about the LGBT community and aging. Today, we conclude that conversation with a look at messaging and trends.
Ben Finzel: What messaging do you think is most effective with our community? How do you talk about aging and the need to prepare for the future with an audience that doesn’t always want to think about tomorrow?
Joy Silver: We have always known that we need to take care of ourselves. Ensuring our elder years is the most important aspect of our lives. This tells us that aging has to be contextualized differently, and that the elements involved in aging challenges may require a new perspective. The new perspective might then rely on the power of personal decision-making, prevention, and the redefinition of aging itself. We need more progressive images of all of our life stages in all of GLBT media. We need more stories, we need more models and visual images, we need more news and information. Much like the mainstream media we seem to want images of those so much younger than our actual age. But the mainstream population has more options to help guide them smoothly in to senior years. Many of their own lives are intergenerational, there are roles defined like grandmother or Chairman of the Board. There is a sense of belonging regardless of age. If we feel important to the community, if we have a good family of choice, if we have great role models then we will feel more comfortable in our skins. Just look at what AARP The Magazine is doing to enhance the wonderful concept of adult years. We GLBT people now have some terrific role models, sensational stories and successful lives.
Ben Finzel: What do you think the future holds for the LGBT community as we age? Can you identify a few trends in your industry that we ought to be aware of?
Joy Silver: Our tagline has been “Envisioning Our Future, Ourselves”. Being able to create a future for ourselves is a radical notion – particularly in an area that has formerly been controlled by nature, and society’s perception of nature’s role. Some trends that are changing the face of this industry are that of the urban village concept, eco-environmental and energy efficient living, and the concept of aging in place within a community so that care is available as needed, whether it’s for an age-related issue or other health concerns unrelated to age. At RainbowVision, the environment we have developed supports and encourages those wishing to make lifestyle changes easily. This might mean establishing a new personal exercise program, or setting up a social program so that meeting new people is easy or enjoying culture and arts is accessible. Things are hard enough outside in the world – at RainbowVision we are the place where Life is Made Easy. We are home, and there’s no place like it.
Over time, seamlessly moving into different segments of our lives can be stressful, challenging and frightening. In a community that is designed for Life Made Easy, sharing great moments and celebrating life’s markers – like weddings and birthdays, and other successes help bring joy and love into our lives and become beautifully memorable. The future holds what we create. We all here at RainbowVision are dedicated to making and keeping this option of living in a GLBT majority community available to those who want to join us!
Ben Finzel: Joy, thanks again for taking the time to share your experience with us. Your leadership in this industry is sorely needed and much appreciated. We look forward to talking with you again in the future as your business, and our community, continues to evolve.
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