Britta Larson has spent about five years as the director of senior services at the Center on Halstedand she credits her mom with leading her toward that field. After all, her mom was a nurse in a senior living community. "I found that I really enjoyed working with older adults," Larson said.
After college, Larson worked for eight years in a conservative faith-based senior living community. "The environment was very unwelcoming for LGBT people and I finally decided I needed to work in a more LGBT-supportive environment," she said. "After witnessing first-hand how LGBT older people are forced back into the closet in senior living communities I decided I wanted to help make the lives of LGBT older adults better."
Truly devoted and passionate about her profession, Larson oversees an array of programs and services through the Center's Senior Programs. "I have the privilege of working closely with a fantastic team of co-workers and volunteers," she said.
Larson said her career goals are to equip service providers with the knowledge and tools they need to best serve LGBT older adults.
"Every day I am able to see the difference our programs at Center on Halsted are making in the lives of the seniors we serve," Larson said when asked the best part of her job.
The worst part, she said, is the number-crunching for various reports. "I always put that off to the last minute because I hate doing it," she said.
Larson is a co-chair for the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Aging and has facilitated workshops on the topic of LGBT Aging at Creating Change, the United States Conference on AIDS and the LGBT Equality Institute.
"I am looking forward to some of the fun outings and activities that we have planned for our seniors in the next couple of months while the weather is nice," Larson said in mid-July.
THE STATS
Age: 35
Neighborhood: Edgewater
Orientation: "I really don't like labels. For me, I am attracted to who a person is on the inside, regardless of their gender."
Relationship status: Partnered
Job title: Director of Senior Services, Center on Halsted
Hobbies: "I love spending time at home with my 11-month old son."
Favorite movie: Birdman
Favorite TV show: Breaking Bad
Little-known fact: "My first job in high school was working the midnight shift as a caregiver in a nursing home for a summer. It was generally really quiet as most of the residents were asleep. I loved the fact that I got paid for watching TV."