"Eighteen months ago, I moved into Oak Lawn Place, an apartment building for low-income, 55 and over, predominantly LGBTQIA+ elders in Dallas, Texas. There are 125 people currently living here (with 81 one-bedroom and three two-bedroom units) with a core group of 40, myself included, that are active in community events.Just yesterday I looked around the community room at tables of people eating lunch, and I was amazed at how people who used to be strangers now felt like a community - my community."
"The Resource Center in Dallas, Texas, is one of the largest and oldest resource centers for LGBTQIA+ people in North America. When I heard the Resource Center was building apartments for low-income seniors at one of their events in late 2022, my interest was immediately piqued. My current living situation was tenuous, at best. I had been sexually assaulted the year before when a man pushed his way into my apartment."
Oak Lawn Place is an apartment building in Dallas for low-income, 55-and-over, predominantly LGBTQIA+ elders, housing 125 residents in 81 one-bedroom and three two-bedroom units. A core group of about 40 residents are active in community events. Residents report a strong sense of belonging and increased safety, with common spaces fostering familiarity and daily interactions. The Resource Center, a major LGBTQIA+ community organization, developed the building to address housing insecurity among older queer adults. Some residents moved after experiences of unsafe housing, rent increases, and violence, and many engaged persistently to secure apartments during construction and application phases.
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