This June, residents, associates and families across Northbridge Companies communities came together for meaningful conversations about acceptance, understanding and belonging through Pride: Love Is Love, an educational presentation exploring the history and significance of Pride.
The program was presented in more than half of Northbridge’s senior living communities across New England and led by George Silvia, senior resident engagement director for Northbridge Companies and a recipient of the Argentum Hero Award.
While the presentation gave participants an opportunity to learn more about the origins, history and meaning of Pride, its impact extended well beyond a traditional educational program. Across participating communities, Pride: Love Is Love became a catalyst for open dialogue, personal reflection and stronger relationships among residents, associates and families.
Through thoughtful discussion, participants explored themes of compassion, identity, equality and the importance of creating communities where every person feels valued, respected and able to be themselves.
In several communities, associates shared that hearing residents express compassion and support for members of the LGBTQ+ community challenged their assumptions and helped them feel an even greater sense of belonging. The conversations also gave residents an opportunity to share their perspectives, personal experiences and hopes for future generations.
Those moments demonstrated the important role senior living communities can play in creating space for intergenerational learning. Residents bring decades of lived experience, evolving perspectives and personal stories to these discussions, while associates and family members contribute viewpoints shaped by their own backgrounds and generations.
When those voices come together, they can build greater understanding, break down assumptions and create a stronger, more connected community culture.
Engagement That Goes Beyond the Activity Calendar
For George Silvia and the Northbridge team, the program reflects the power of resident engagement to extend far beyond activities and entertainment. Purposeful programming can encourage residents to remain curious, express their ideas and participate in conversations that are relevant to the world around them. It can also help associates better understand the residents they serve, and better understand one another.
Programs such as Pride: Love Is Love create opportunities for residents and associates to learn together, ask questions and listen to perspectives that may differ from their own. In doing so, they can help foster a culture in which people feel comfortable sharing who they are, what they believe and what matters to them.
That sense of belonging is especially important in senior living, where communities bring together people from different generations, backgrounds, professions, cultures and life experiences. The strongest communities recognize that belonging is not created through a single event, presentation or month of recognition. It is built over time through daily interactions, meaningful conversations and a willingness to listen with empathy.
Northbridge’s program offers one example of how senior living communities can make space for those conversations while demonstrating that learning, growth and connection can happen at every age.
Pride Across Senior Living
Northbridge was among a number of senior living organizations recognizing Pride Month this June. Across the country, communities found different ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ residents, associates and families while reinforcing the importance of acceptance and belonging.
At Rose Villa Senior Living, residents, families, friends and allies gathered for the community’s annual Pride parade and celebration. The community shared the message that “Pride has no age,” while residents participated in a colorful event featuring music, dancing and community connection.
Frontier Senior Living also used its platform to recognize Pride Month and emphasize the importance of finding a senior living community where every person feels welcomed, comfortable and supported.
Other senior living organizations shared messages celebrating individuality, the experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults and the importance of creating cultures in which residents and associates can live and work authentically.
These efforts reflect the many ways senior living communities can acknowledge Pride, from parades, celebrations and public messages of support to education and deeper dialogue. Northbridge’s Pride: Love Is Love presentation added a particularly meaningful dimension by creating structured opportunities for residents and associates to learn together, discuss difficult or unfamiliar topics, challenge assumptions and strengthen their understanding of one another.
A Story Worth Sharing
Northbridge’s program also reflects the spirit of the I Love Senior Living movement, a national storytelling initiative created to elevate the people, experiences and everyday moments that make senior living communities special. Stories such as this help show the broader public that senior living is not simply a place where people receive care. It is a place where residents continue to learn, contribute, form relationships, challenge perceptions and inspire the people around them.
It is also a place where associates can find meaningful careers, build lasting relationships and feel that their individual experiences and identities are valued. By sharing these stories more widely, senior living organizations can help challenge outdated perceptions of aging and shine a brighter light on the residents and associates who make their communities extraordinary.
Northbridge communities and other senior living organizations are encouraged to share their programs, resident stories, associate moments and examples of meaningful connection on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok using #iloveseniorliving. Including the hashtag helps connect individual posts to stories being shared by communities across the country. It also gives the I Love Senior Living movement an opportunity to find, celebrate and amplify the residents, associates, families and programs making a difference every day.
Posts do not need to be elaborate. A meaningful photo, a brief resident quote, a short video, an associate reflection or a few sentences about a memorable community moment can all become part of the movement.
The most important step is to share the story, and to include #iloveseniorliving on every related social media post.
Tools to Help Communities Tell Their Stories
Communities can visit ILoveSeniorLiving.com to access tools, ideas and resources designed to make participation easy. The website includes HeartStart Guides, with toolkits created specifically for owners and operators, state associations, industry partners and community leaders. These resources provide ideas for identifying meaningful stories, involving residents and associates, creating social content and activating the movement within an organization or community.
Teams can also use the HeartSpark Studio, an AI-powered storytelling tool that helps turn a meaningful moment, resident experience or community activity into polished content. HeartSpark Studio can be especially valuable for community teams that know they have a wonderful story but need help finding the right words, organizing the details or adapting the story for social media.
A team member can begin with a few basic details such as what happened, who was involved and why the moment mattered, and use the studio to develop a stronger post or story. Whether a community shares a celebration, an educational program, a resident accomplishment, an act of kindness or a meaningful exchange between a resident and associate, the goal is to help more people see the heart of senior living.
Coming in August: Ageless Hearts
In August, the I Love Senior Living movement will place residents and their life stories at the center of the conversation through the monthly theme Ageless Hearts. In recognition of National Senior Citizens Day on August 21, communities are encouraged to share resident spotlights, talents, accomplishments, advice, unexpected adventures and examples of how people continue growing, contributing and inspiring at every age.
Stories could feature a resident pursuing a longtime passion, mentoring a younger associate, learning a new skill, sharing wisdom with family members, discovering an unexpected talent or continuing to make a difference within the community. A community might spotlight the former teacher who still tutors local students, the resident who recently began painting, the veteran sharing memories of service, the lifelong volunteer continuing to support a favorite cause or the grandparent passing a treasured family tradition to a new generation.
The theme creates an opportunity to move beyond traditional assumptions about aging and show the full range of experiences, personalities, talents and possibilities represented within senior living. Communities are invited to share these stories throughout August using #iloveseniorliving. Teams can visit ILoveSeniorLiving.com for resources and inspiration and use the HeartSpark Studio to help bring each story to life.
Every resident has a story. Every community has moments worth celebrating. Through I Love Senior Living, senior living organizations can help the country see that purpose, growth, adventure and inspiration have no age limit.