‘It’ll be a safe place’: Affordable housing complex for LGBTQ2S+ seniors coming to Winnipeg

Winnipeg is set to be home to the country’s first affordable housing complex for LGBTQ2S+ seniors.

The Rainbow Resource Centre and Westminster Housing Society are building a Place of Pride, a $20 million affordable housing complex and campus for older 2SLGBTQ+ Winnipeggers.

The Broadway complex will have 21 new, deeply affordable housing units surrounded by a campus of services to support residents including a community centre, cultural centre, community kitchen and café.

“Older adults can live in a community. The community will be coming to the main floor. There’s on-site programming, and we can really support the folks who are aging in place, on site,” said Noreen Mian, executive director of Rainbow Resource Centre.

Mel Byer, 73, first came out of the closet when he was 18, but felt pressured to go back in.

“I’m one of a number of people my age who sort of had to come out more than once,” he said.

“I felt pressured to raise a family. I came out again at 60.”

Working as an apartment building manager, he felt he couldn’t always be forthcoming about his sexuality.

Place of Pride, he said, will allow residents to feel at home.

“It’ll be a safe place.”

The project was kick-started with a $5 million federal rapid housing initiative grant, with another $3 million from the province.

The plan is to have first residents move in next spring.

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé