This week marked a major milestone for Canada’s first-ever 2SLGBTQ+ campus. On Thursday, Rainbow Resource Centre broke ground on phase two of the $23 million campus called “Rainbow Centre.” The project involves creating an accessible space in central Winnipeg for counselling, programming and 55+ housing. The four-storey building will also include community meeting rooms, a glass-walled welcome centre, a courtyard and second-floor patio. The first phase of the project involved the creation of 21 units of affordable housing for 2SLGBTQ+ older adults. That phase is now complete, and Rainbow Resource Centre has moved on to phase two, which requires $13 million for programming, service and connection spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ Manitobans. “This project is showing the world that our city and our province are welcoming, inclusive, and progressive in all ways, for all people,” said campaign chairperson Patrick O’Reilly at a news conference on Thursday. At the news conference, O’Reilly also announced that the Chipman family made a $500,000 donation to the Rainbow Centre.“ Everybody deserves the joy of belonging, to feel welcomed, to feel supported, to feel valued for who they are,” said Ruth Chipman. “But belonging doesn’t just happen. We need to create spaces where belonging takes place. Places of belongings for everybody, and that’s what makes this place, this place of pride, so meaningful.” Rainbow Centre will be located at 545 Broadway. More information is available online.
