Proposed housing project aims at bringing LGBTTQ seniors together

Housing project to bring LGBTTQ seniors together Jeff Keele reports on a unique housing project being proposed in Winnipeg to bring many LGBTTQ seniors together.

Growing old but not alone: The Rainbow Resource Centre said members of the LGBTTQ community have faced a lifetime of discrimination. Many seniors live in secrecy, hide their relationships and are less likely to have children.

All of this this makes them more prone to living their golden years in isolation.

"We know that when LGBT folks are going into assisted living or types of care they're nervous to come out to their care providers," said Mike Tutthill, the executive director of Rainbow Resource Centre.

The centre is hoping to change that with the Positive Space Initiative. It needs $50,000 for a feasibility study to make it a reality.

Tutthill said it wants to build a 55-plus mixed use seniors complex with 90 to 120 housing units. It could include a brand new resource centre, retail, health clinic, and common area for residents to share their common life experiences.

"Often times the folks that we see here at the centre are folks that may have been in long term relationships but have lost their partners and therefore are reaching out to create a sense of community for themselves," said Tutthill.

The Winnipeg Foundation is in for half the amount of the feasibility costs. The city is being lobbied for the rest. City councillor Jenny Gerbasi supports the ask. She's hoping the project’s proponents can tap into $40-billion dollars in federal housing money announced Wednesday.

"The key thing is to be ready for it to have the feasibility study done and be shovel ready to go so that they can try to get that funding that's becoming available," said Gerbasi.

The centre said if all goes well it's hoping to have the feasibility study complete by the end of March next year.

The city’s community services committee will consider the feasibility funding request on Friday.