A while ago, Rainbow Resource Centre in Winnipeg unveiled its latest project, Place of Pride — a campus designed to provide 2SLGBTQ+ individuals with access to affordable housing, program spaces and community services.

Recently, the project reached a milestone with the completion of its first phase, allowing residents to move into apartment units specifically for 2SLGBTQ+ seniors in September. Work on the second and final phase is underway, focusing on modernizing the existing centre, enhancing accessibility and connecting it to the new apartments.

In an interview, Patrick O’Reilly, chair of the Place of Pride fundraising campaign, said the project came into being several years ago in response to the housing discrimination faced by seniors in the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Winnipeg.

“Rainbow has been hearing from seniors, elderly 2SLGBTQ+ folks, about some experiences they’ve had when they try to find affordable living or seniors-type buildings that they can move into in their elder years,” he explained.

“They had to go back in the closet because they felt unsafe, either from other residents in the housing or from staff in areas where it was more of a care home. They’ve had trouble accessing affordable housing for couples if they’re not married as a couple.”

The $20 million project has received funding from both provincial and federal governments, with $8 million allocated to the first phase. The Manitoba government recently expressed support for the second phase in its throne speech.

“The government of Manitoba, amazingly, wonderfully, we’re so thankful, included reference to their support for this Place of Pride (phase two) in the speech from the throne,” O’Reilly said.

“That speech from the throne is a commitment from the government of what their plans are, what they intend to do over the next term of the legislature […] It doesn’t finalize the precise deal on the amount and that sort of thing, but we’re very happy the provincial government committed that,” he said.

Place of Pride is Canada’s first 2SLGBTQ+ campus, underscoring Winnipeg’s role as a pioneer in creating gathering spaces for the community.

 “The concept of having a queer centre started in Winnipeg, Canada. In fact, it started on the U of M campus, it’s where Rainbow started,” he said.

The Rainbow Resource Centre, located at 545 Broadway, currently serves around 4,500 people each year, offering programs such as free counselling sessions and crafting workshops. This number is expected to increase to the tens of thousands with the completion of Place of Pride.

Despite the centre’s outreach efforts, there is still much progress to be made. According to a study conducted by the government of Canada, factors such as not being in a conjugal relationship, living alone and being discriminated against can put LGBTQ+ seniors more at risk of being socially isolated.

Sadly, few existing 2SLGBTQ+ spaces and services cater specifically to seniors — an issue that deeply concerns O’Reilly.

“In North American society, we seem to sometimes overlook our elders and our seniors, but yeah, it’s true in our 2SLGBTQ+ communities as well,” he said.

“These folks are like our pioneers, right? The people who are in seniors’ buildings now are the folks who started pride parades. They’re the folks who started queer community centres. They’re the folks who stood up — out, proud — to their employers in the 70s when it wasn’t safe to do that,” he adds.

O’Reilly stresses that 2SLGBTQ+ people still face hurdles in Canada including schoolteachers refusing to accept students’ preferred pronouns and “outing” students to their unsupportive parents. He then re-emphasized the need for a safe space where community members can just exist. “We’re not there yet. There’s still fear, and there’s still danger, there’s still crisis.

But also, equally important, we need a big, happy, safe gathering place for our communities.

“Right now the only thing we have for 2SLGBTQ+ folks is the Rainbow Resource Centre and right now because it’s limited in its size, it’s mostly crisis focused. [However] you can just stop in and have a coffee and that’s important for all of us in the community, just a nice place to gather,” O’Reilly said.

“[It] probably sounds a little sappy, but those things are so important.”

To learn more about Place of Pride, visit placeofpride.ca. For information about Rainbow Resource Centre’s programs and services, visit rainbowresourcecentre.org.