It took almost a decade: Montreal opened its first shelter for lesbians aged 55 and over, and the first tenants began to move in.

Alexandra Henriques signed her lease on Thursday to join Maison RebElles, coming from Quebec. She occupies one of the 22 rooms available at the residence in the St-Henri district.

“The description, I already thought that was the kind of place I was looking for and it’s perfect, just lesbians,” Henriques said.

Isabelle Duclaud, the treasurer of Maison RebElles, has been working on the project since its beginnings.

“It’s an old dream for many of us,” she said.

A 2017 study by Egale showed that fear of being relegated to the closet was the number one problem for LGBTQ seniors.

Henriques knows the subject. She spent years working in the seniors’ wing of an LGBTQ2S+ organization in Vancouver and noticed how poorly people were sometimes treated. She said some people never let go of their old prejudices.

Alexandra Henriques (left) signed her lease on Thursday with the treasurer of Maison RebElles, Isabelle Duclaud (right). (Erika Morris/CTV News)

“I remember people saying to me, ‘My sister is in a dorm and she’s a lesbian and people didn’t want to sit with her at lunch,’ and stupid things like that,” Henriques said.

“Those bullies and idiots from high school are still here in the dorm waiting for you to move in.”

This was Duclaud’s greatest motivation when he worked with the dozen other founding members of Maison RebElles.

“We were oppressed and invisible in our youth and we didn’t want that in our old age. Most of us have been activists, we have fought for our rights,” she said.

“There is no question of going back into the closet at our age, and unfortunately that can happen when you move into a retirement home for the elderly.”

Voli Mamfredis, architect and wife of Duclaud, pointed out that one of the main causes of health decline among older people is loneliness, and that many LGBTQ2S+ people do not have children to care for them .

Voli Mamfredis is one of the founding members of RebElles, alongside his wife Isabelle Duclaud. (Erika Morris/CTV News)

But RebElles “don’t intend to be alone — in fact, it could cause problems if there are too many friends around,” Mamfredis said.

She emphasized that RebElles House is not a typical senior living community, but rather an intentional co-living community. All of the founding members will move into the building, and the others were selected after extensive interviews to see if they were the right fit.

It is a home for active elderly people who do not need long-term care.

“We’ve always been independent, and especially feminist women, lesbians who have always said, ‘No, no, we’re going to continue living and we’re going to take care of each other,'” she said.

“So, yes, it’s about preparing for the next chapter to make sure we live life to the fullest.”

Available units range from studios to four and a half and are fully functional apartments. There is also a large common area with a shared kitchen for people to have large dinners and host social events, and for residents to play cards or do yoga together. Only one studio is still up for grabs.

“A success story”

When the president of Batir Son Quartier, Edith Cyr, was approached by the RebElles to ask them to be partners in their project, she replied that it was obvious.

Their mission is to help people, especially those who are marginalized and low-income, she said, adding that a home for LGBTQ2S+ senior women meets all their criteria.

With the help of BSQ, the RebElles secured funding and began looking for the right location – the longest part of the project. They finally landed in St-Ambroise, in a building that they share with two other groups of women – Logifem and s Libr’elles.

“It’s a success story for us,” Cyr said. “When we know that people are moving into their homes and that they are happy, we are fulfilled. »

“They have a sparkle in their eyes when they talk about their home… it’s a real community they’re building.” And when you get older, you want to be safe, you want space to be yourself.

Available units range from studios to four and a half and are fully functional apartments. (Erika Morris/CTV News)

Although Duclaud says it took 10 years for the project to be fully realized, once the site was found, it only took two years to develop it.

“It just takes time to fully plan your vision,” Cyr said, “but I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, it’s taking too long to develop community housing,’ because then no one will want to do it .

The 22 units are affordable and non-profit, and eight of its units are eligible for subsidies from the Société d’habitation du Québec, so its tenants pay only 25 percent of their income to stay.

The other tenants will move in over the next two months.

More spaces needed

Cyr believes that the RebElles project, along with Libr’elles and Logifem, will provide an excellent model for future projects.

“We hope we can do more of this and that governments will continue to invest in these areas. »

Duclaud and Mamfredis said they think the RebElles house will last a long time and want others to feel inspired to have more spaces for LGBTQ2S+ seniors.

Henriques said it was “of paramount importance” that more nursing homes had dedicated spaces for people like her. There is only one in Toronto, she said. She hopes to see shelters for gay men and trans people.

“People didn’t want to think anything about LGBTQ older people, like we weren’t always there, like we weren’t there when you were in elementary school, like we weren’t there when you were in high school – we were still there,” she said.

” It’s what ? The first in Montreal, the first in Quebec? It’s too little.