The District of Columbia’s first residential community dedicated to LGBTQ seniors has opened its doors.
Mayor of DC Muriel Bowser Mary’s house for the elderlylocated in the Fort DuPont area of DC, and is available at 11am on Thursday, May 8th.
The ceremony featured comments from special guests, including Sen. Robert White (D-AT-Large), prominent agency chief Wendell Felder (D-Word7), and Dr. Imani Woody, president and CEO of the residential community.
Mary’s House offers 15 affordable apartment style units explicitly designed to support LGBTQ seniors through access to housing, health, wellness programs and community services.
The communal space offers a variety of amenities for residents, including reception areas, rooftop terraces, kitchens, dining spaces, libraries, computer rooms, games, craft areas and exercise rooms.
Inspired by her late father’s experiences in long-term care, Woody, the founder of Mary’s home’s seniors, has been trying to create a living community for LGBTQ seniors for over a decade.
The plot of land on which Mary’s house is located was once the site of Woody’s childhood home, and the project was named after her mother.
Mary’s House receives nearly $1 million from the Housing Production Trust Fund, a special income fund that provides gap finance for affordable housing that serves district residents from low-income households.
Approximately 14% of DC’s population, or a total of 98,000 residents, live in affordable housing, which is increasingly fewer and fewer in the US.
To that end, Bowser recently announced that the 2026 budget proposal would include a $100 million investment in the fund to help produce and preserve affordable homes.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
