00:00I was physically attacked three times after my transition.
00:03In the first year, I was verbally attacked every day.
00:07When I realized I was gay, I took off.
00:11It was a matter of life or death.
00:14Alice and Francois are both retired, queer and child-free.
00:18And they both needed a place to stay in their old age.
00:23Queer people have told us they've been bullied in retirement homes and couldn't live openly.
00:28The House of Diversity in Lyon, France, wants to do things differently.
00:33It's meant to be a place where queer people aged 55 and up can be their true selves.
00:39Francois Berry loves his new 40-square-meter rental apartment.
00:43Here, the 65-year-old gay man can finally breathe easy.
00:48Here I can be who I am.
00:50For instance, if we're having a drink together in the evening,
00:53I don't have to worry about saying,
00:55Oh, that electrician who was here was really cute.
01:01I got this sweater for my birthday.
01:05Alice is 56 years old and lives in a 20-square-meter apartment on the third floor.
01:12She underwent gender-affirming care six years ago.
01:15At the time, she lived in a smaller town north of Lyon, where she needed thick skin.
01:25In my old town, gay, lesbian and trans people would hide.
01:30I was physically attacked three times after my transition.
01:34In the first year, I was verbally attacked every day.
01:37I often felt alone back then.
01:42François used to hide his sexual identity as much as possible.
01:46His parents were factory workers in a small village.
01:49Simple people with simple values, he says.
01:53I would hear a lot of insults and negative things about gay people from others around me.
01:59When I started to realize I was gay myself and that it would disgrace my family, I took off.
02:05Because for me, it was a matter of life or death.
02:09I knew I couldn't stay there.
02:13François found a partner and a job as an educator.
02:16In 1982, France decriminalized homosexuality.
02:21But societal prejudices and rejection don't just vanish overnight.
02:25And things took a fateful turn that left him feeling even more isolated.
02:33When a doctor tells you you have AIDS, I couldn't help but…
02:51Think of all our friends.
03:03Our friends, we lost that illness. I thought I'm the next one up.
03:07People infected with HIV now have the same life expectancy as healthy people,
03:12thanks to medical advances in care.
03:14And they're welcome in the house of diversity.
03:17There are 15 apartments for rent here, for 300 to 800 euros a month.
03:23Forty people have applied for them.
03:25There's a laundry room, communal kitchen and shared living room, plus regular workshops.
03:30Today they're being visited by an association that puts on theatre workshops with deaf-mute people.
03:37The idea is to organize joint workshops between September and March.
03:44When I moved in here, I had hoped that our house would do just that, connect with other initiatives.
03:51There are plans to open five more houses of diversity in the coming years across France, which would also offer
03:58medical care.
03:59But the organizers say that won't be enough.
04:02After all, there are a million queer people approaching retirement age in France.
04:10It wasn't until 2013 that gays and lesbians have been allowed to marry and adopt children in France, meaning an
04:16entire generation has no children and thus no close ones to support them.
04:20Queer people have told us they've been bullied in retirement homes and couldn't live openly.
04:25We'd let them be true to themselves in their golden years, without having to hide.
04:29But we need more political support.
04:33Elise and Francois are going to a theatre café.
04:36The neighbourhood used to belong to the silk weaving industry, and now boasts a thriving cultural scene.
04:42They feel right at home here, even if life isn't always easy.
04:50It's hard getting along with other people.
04:53There have been moments I thought I should move out, and I don't think I'm the only one.
04:59At the beginning, I kept a certain distance.
05:02I thought, we're going to live together for 30 years.
05:05We can't become friends overnight.
05:09Not the most carefree conversation, but at least one thing isn't an issue anymore.
05:14Their sexual orientation.
05:15It's like they've found their community.
05:20It's like we're going to live together.
05:22We're going to live together.
05:25Moving here changed my life.
05:27Since then, I haven't been insulted a single time for my appearance.
05:34Living in this home is maybe my final militant act.
05:38We want to pick who we grow old with.
05:41And we don't want to live with narrow-minded straight people who discriminate against us.
05:54And we don't want to live with narrow-minded straight people who discriminate against us.
05:57This is the not 1984.
05:57It tollie there.
05:57Here we are, everybody.
05:57We can actually get to the podium.
05:57Ash and T-O,
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