The first LGBT retirement home in France is to open its doors in Lyon this autumn, with the aim of tackling social isolation through inclusive communal living.
The Maison de la Diversité (House of Diversity), a pioneering project in the historic La Croix-Rousse neighbourhood, will have its official opening in early October, with the first residents moving in from the end of August.
It is the brainchild of the association Les Audacieuses & Les Audacieux, which was founded in 2017 and works to prevent social isolation of LGBT people and those with HIV as they get older.
Residents will move in from the end of August this yearLes Audacieuses & Les Audacieux
“The Maison de la Diversité will be a cocoon, a bubble of kindness, mutual aid and solidarity between generations and neighbours on a neighbourhood scale,” said Christophe Dercamp, general coordinator at Les Audacieuses & Les Audacieux.
The project was inspired by a similar community in Berlin, Lebensort Vielfalt, and joins other LGBT retirement homes in countries such as the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.
It is set to be the first such community in France.
“How proud we are to know that the first Maison de la Diversité will be in Lyon,” said the city’s mayor Grégory Doucet in 2022 at the project’s inauguration.
A home for everyone
While France has made strides in LGBT rights in recent years, for example by legalising same-sex marriage in 2013, discrimination still exists. And many LGBT pensioners grew up in a time where to be gay meant being ostracised by family and wider society.
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“They have lived their lives in environments that have all too often been hostile in terms of discrimination: rejection by friends and family, conversion therapies, hospitalisation in psychiatric hospitals, ostracism, insults, physical aggression, and unequal rights,” said Mr Dercamp.
The consequences can be far-reaching.
“It is now accepted that the mental health of these populations is much more fragile and that cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and addictions (anti-anxiety drugs, tobacco, alcohol) are unfortunately over-represented.”
Many members have described being shunned by their families and forced to leave home at a young age.
The hope is that the Maison de la Diversité will be a new, chosen family for its residents: “An inclusive and participative home where you can stop growing old alone, a home for everyone,” according to Les Audacieuses & Les Audacieux.
A cross-generational melting pot
The community is aimed mainly – but not exclusively – at LGBT people over the age of 55.
Young people and students will also be welcome, with one flat reserved for younger residents.
The idea is for a cross-generational melting pot – “a secure, multi-generational environment in which people are no longer afraid of being judged, discriminated against or stigmatised,” said Mr Dercamp.
The home will include 16 flats with communal spacesLes Audacieuses & Les Audacieux
This communal living will strengthen social ties and mean residents will benefit from “mutual support, a sense of belonging and a better quality of life” thanks to working together and taking collective responsibility for their living environment.
The retirement home is situated in an existing, derelict building, which is being renovated to span five floors and include 16 flats linked by outdoor walkways. The flats are between 24m² and 42m² and include their own kitchen, bathroom, living room and sleeping area, or a separate bedroom for the larger units.
The house will also include 120m² of communal areas, including activity rooms, a lounge-library, office, laundry room and large shared garden.
There will be regular social activities for residents and the local community, which will help to engage the neighbourhood in the project.
Rents will be below market rate and seven of the apartments will be social housing.
Anyone considering becoming a resident must first join Les Audacieuses et les Audacieux. They must also sign up to a collective living charter to help organise the community.
Collective living
“Residents share values, responsibilities and resources. They work together to make decisions, manage collective tasks and organise social activities,” said Mr Dercamp.
The association has received 70 applications so far.
Mr Dercamp warns that all applicants must be ready to take a big leap: “Choosing to live in a collective, joining and participating in a shared social life project, is a big change in your life.”.
An enthusiastic community of prospective residents and association members has developed around the Maison de la Diversité. They have attended Lyon Pride together, participated in social media videos for the association and even recorded their own pop song (see tinyurl.com/song-maison), extolling the virtues of the retirement home to prospective residents.
“For more than two years, we have been organising meetings and work sessions. We went to Berlin to meet the residents of Lebensort Vielfalt [another community]. The group evolves with each person's individual goals,” said Mr Dercamp.
So far, 11 LGBT seniors or seniors living with HIV have been accepted to live in the community, with “others on their way” according to Mr Dercamp.
He thinks the Lyon retirement home could be the first of several across France.
