Spain To Open First Public LGBT Retirement Home In Madrid

The world’s first publicly funded retirement home for gay senior citizens is to open in Spain at the end of 2018.

Spain is to open the world’s first LGBT retirement home funded with public money, after getting the green light from Madrid’s regional government.

According to Federico Armenteros, president of the Fundacion 26 de Diciembre (December 26 Foundation), which will run the residence, it will become the first retirement home in the world to be opened using 100 percent public funds. It is set to open on December 26.

The home will consist of a four-storey building in the Villaverde neighbourhood of Madrid and will house 66 LGBT seniors as well as a day centre for 30 more. The project is expected to create 40 jobs.

The foundation is named after the date in 1979 when a law banning homosexuality, which was strongly enforced during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, was abolished in Spain.

The new centre will focus on the “most fragile” among the community, Armenteros said.

He added that older LGBT Spaniards are often rejected from more traditional retirement homes because the residences “are unprepared for diversity because we haven’t been educated in it and because of the heteropatriarchal model that these older people do not fit into.”

Spain has 160,000 LGBT people over the age of 65, according to the foundation’s data.

Over the past few decades, Spain has been at the forefront of LGBT rights. In 2005, it became the third country in the world to legalise gay marriage (at the same time, the country also legalised adoption by same-sex couples).

landscape with balloons floating in the air

KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.