A home for everyone

Cleveland area seniors don’t have to worry about going back into the closet to get into long-term care.

A Place for Us is a new retirement community has opened for low-income people that is lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) friendly. Anyone can live there who is eligible, and that nature of inclusiveness was central to its inception.

Twenty years ago, Linda Krasienko was looking for a long-term care facility she and her partner could afford to eventually move into. There weren’t any.

Keven Borowiak lives on a low-fixed income and was one of the first residents to move into the 55-unit apartment complex.

“People my age grew up in an era when being gay, being lesbian, LGBT was a negative,” he says to local ABC affiliate News 5. A Place for Us gives him peace of mind. “You don’t have to feel anxious you’ve got neighbors that think hmmm.”

According to the Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), many retirement communities are either ill-equipped or not LGTB friendly.

Nicole Stempak

Nicole was Senior Editor at I Advance Senior Care and Long Term Living Magazine 2015-2017. She has a Journalism degree from Kent State University and is finalizing a master’s degree in Information Architecture and Management. She has extensive studies in the digital user experience and in branding online media. She has worked as an editor and writer for various B2B publications, including Business Finance.