VNSNY’s LGBT Outreach Program Featured in TV Coverage of Brooklyn Pride Day 2018
As the Brooklyn Pride Day Festival unfolded on Saturday, June 9th under sunny skies, VNSNY’s LGBT Program Manager Arthur Fitting was on camera, speaking to a News 12 Brooklyn television reporter in front of VNSNY’s festival booth on Park Slope’s 5th Avenue. “There are a lot of problems accessing healthcare for older LGBT people,” Arthur explained to the reporter. “We’re trying to find those niches where people need help.”
Arthur’s interview, standing before a VNSNY rainbow banner bearing the slogan Proudly Caring for Diversity since 1893, was a featured element that evening in News 12’s coverage of the Brooklyn Pride event. But just as important, says Arthur, were the many connections VNSNY made with festival-goers throughout the day-long celebration. “We had hundreds of people stop by to learn more about VNSNY’s LGBT outreach program,” he notes, “including how our organization is working to ensure an inclusive and welcoming healthcare environment for all New Yorkers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
VNSNY’s LGBT Outreach Program, supported by a grant from The New York Community Trust, is devoted to spreading the word about VNSNY’s LGBT-friendly home care services, building VNSNY’s relationships with both LGBT-dedicated and non-LGBT organizations in the community, and educating New York City’s provider community on the best practices for working with LGBT seniors.
Like VNSNY’s booth at the Queens Pride celebration a week earlier, the program’s Brooklyn presence drew interest from people of all ages and backgrounds. “The broad range of people who expressed support for what we’re doing, both in Brooklyn and Queens, demonstrates to me that our LGBT program truly has universal appeal,” notes Arthur.
For the second year in a row, VNSNY will also be participating as an organization in the NYC PRIDE Parade in Manhattan on June 24th. Nearly 200 VNSNY staff members have signed up to march in the parade, which will feature a VNSNY float for the first time.
