UK's first LGBT+ retirement village to open in summer 2021

The UK’s first LGBT+ retirement village is to open this summer, after securing £5.7m funding from the Mayor of London.

Tonic Housing was set up in 2014 to address issues of loneliness and isolation of older LGBT+ people and the need for specific housing and support provision due to there currently being none in the UK.

It has picked London for its first care village due to the capital having the largest LGBT+ population in the UK. It is also looking at locations in Manchester.

Tonic Housing has succeeded in securing a £5.7 million Community Housing Fund loan to purchase 19 one and two-bedroom homes within One Housing’s Bankhouse in Vauxhall, Lambeth. Bankhouse was designed by architect Norman Foster, and also has an on-site restaurant, community space overlooking the river Thames, a floating garden and a roof terrace with views of central London.

Anna Kear, chief executive of Tonic Housing said: “We intend this to be the first of many Tonic retirement communities, achieved by working in partnership in London and other cities. These first homes, that are already built and currently empty, will enable people who need and want this accommodation to have the benefit of it immediately.

“Working with One Housing, we can complement the excellent care services that they provide for residents in the scheme. We intend that future Tonic schemes will provide a range of tenures directly, created through further acquisitions or new developments. Bankhouse is an important milestone in Tonic’s evolution. We’re so excited to get our future residents settled in their new homes and living in our community. Moving in is just the beginning!”

Tonic Housing says the UK’s first LGBT+ affirming retirement community will ‘support people in later life, ensuring they don’t feel the need to go back in the closet, which is a typical story for many older LGBT+ people accessing care or housing’.

Its housing with care will celebrate LGBT+ identities with the community at the very heart of their homes. Tonic will co-create events and activities with residents based on their interests, including collaborations with other LGBT+ organisations and support providers. One Housing will provide a flexible range of on-site care and support packages, with all the Bankhouse staff having LGBT+ training.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said: “I am proud to support Tonic in creating the UK’s first LGBTQ+ retirement community. London is an open, diverse, inclusive city and I’m delighted to see these long-held plans come to fruition with the help of this loan and my Community-led Housing Hub.

“Older Londoners deserve to be able to enjoy their later years in comfort and security, surrounded by a thriving, supportive community. I look forward to seeing this realised at Bankhouse and to supporting Tonic’s work to establish further LGBTQ+ affirming developments in the years to come.”

Richard Hill, chief executive at One Housing added: “We are delighted to be working alongside Tonic Housing and the GLA to provide homes for older LGBT+ people. We have a long history of investing in homes and communities and providing assisted living to older people. We look forward to welcoming new LGBT+ customers to Bankhouse where they’ll be able to enjoy all the advantages of independent living with on-site care and support when they need it.”

There is estimated to be around a million LGBT+ people in Britain over the age of 55 and research has revealed that many of the nearly half a million people living in care homes have felt forced to return to the ‘closet’.

A survey carried out by carehome.co.uk in 2019 found 35 per cent of care home staff had received no specialist training to cater for the needs of LGBT+ residents.

In the same survey, they found one in 10 staff had witnessed their LGBT+ residents experiencing prejudice, spelling out the need for a better level of awareness amongst staff to tackle any issues that arise.

Homophobia can be a real problem in care homes as older people can have entrenched views and grew up in times when it was illegal to be gay, with homosexuality only being decriminalised in 1967. In many care homes, people who have been 'out' all their lives suddenly feel they have to hide their sexuality and keep it a secret.

Older transgender people can also face considerable prejudice and will have extra needs in terms of their personal care, such as the need to shave, catheterise or find appropriate gender clothing in the right size.

Some care providers are leading the way in being truly inclusive. Belong care villages, are part of this small minority of residential care settings which are celebrating diversity.

They are tackling prejudice head on by hosting LGBT+ reminiscence events, attending Pride marches and even holding their own Silver Pride.

Stacey McCann, chief operating officer of care provider Belong which runs seven care villages in the north of England, says: “Belong has made great strides in proactively embracing the LGBT+ community in recent years through events and initiatives, including hosting regular LGBT+ events for older people, such as Silver Rainbows reminiscence sessions and Crewe’s first ever Silver Pride event. This extends to supporting residents to attend Pride events in the wider community.

“As a values-based organisation, committed to equality and promoting diversity, Belong actively seeks to create environments that are counteractive to prejudice, and where people can be comfortable expressing who they are. Part of this involves communicating Belong’s inclusive values widely, including with signage.”

Belong has also invested in specialist training for its staff. Ms McCann added: “Many people living in a care setting who identify as LGBT+ would have found it much more difficult to express who they were when growing up than they would today, and some may still find it difficult as a result. When moving into a care setting, some may have worries because of prejudice they experienced in the past. The training covers how to identify if people have such concerns and how to support them emotionally if they are.”