Manchester City Council Plans to Create UK’s First LGBT Community for Older People
- The community is aimed at Manchester residents over the age of 50 who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
- It will be the first LGBT majority 'extra care' scheme in the UK
Manchester City Council has announced plans to create a community that will protect Manchester's LGBT residents from discrimination, and provide an area in which they feel safe and comfortable with being open about their identity.
The area will be at least 51% LGBT, and will provide affordable housing along with experienced staff and carers.
The plans have arised in response to a recent LGBT Foundation report, which found that many LGBT residents were expressing feelings of loneliness and isolation, as well as a fear of discrimination.
The council, along with the LGBT Foundation, Stonewall Housing and the Homes and Communities Agency, aim to create a 'welcoming and accessible' environment to meet the needs of older LGBT people in the community.
Cllr Bev Craig, Manchester City Council’s lead member for LGBT women, said: “At the City Council we've commissioned research with the LGBT Foundation, Age UK and other charities, around the needs and experiences of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the city.
"One of the things that came out quite strongly, is that people, particularly those that have fought discrimination to be out, and to be themselves their entire lives, are now starting to worry that they might have to go back into the closet, or their needs might not be understood, met or welcomed.
"The idea of this new LGBT 'Extra Care' scheme is that we're able to bring a community of people together that means as people get older, they can have the support they need, but in a positive and supportive, non-discriminatory environment.”