Former Gayfest organiser Julia Grant has revealed plans for a Village drop-in community centre that would seek to provide refuge for boys prostituting themselves in Manchester and other services.
The community centre would act as a drop-in support centre for those in need of help, as well as a ‘gay tourist information centre’.
The group behind the plans, the Village Community Alliance, hope for the centre to be situated in the heart of Manchester’s Gay Village, possibly on Chorlton Street.
The Village Community Alliance is made up from the different gay, trans and youth groups who felt disenfranchised by the ‘current state’ of the Village.
Ms Grant, who helped run Gayfest in 2000 and 2001, told MM what the plans were for the proposed centre.
“For the last year or two there has been talk of having some kind of community centre within the Village that helps people in need but not covered by other services,” she said.
“We were looking for somewhere where it could be a drop in centre where people could have a cup of tea and if they had problems ask and get help a lot of older people from the community.
“It would be nice to help people and point them in the right direction.”
It is hoped that the centre would be act as a ‘gay tourist information’ as well as hosting a film club and being a safe social space for the Village community.
The group plan to fund the centre through an on-site shop and car boot sales instead of relying on public money.
Ms Grant wants the facility to help the homeless in the Village to stop some of them resorting to prostitution to survive.
“A couple of us went out one night and met six young lads, two had been thrown out by their families when they came out as gay, and they didn’t have anywhere to get help and assistance,” she said.
“The discussion went that it was easy for one of them to go to a bar, pick up an old man, give him a wank, and get a fiver to buy some food.
“They were prostituting themselves which is such a shame.”
The proposed site on Chorlton Steet currently has planning permission to become restaurant but several people from the Village Community Alliance, including Ms Grant, have written to Manchester City Council who own the premises.
“A couple of us have written to say BaaBar opened as a restaurant and became a bar, Sanctuary was a restaurant became a bar; so that is what is going to happen there,” she told MM.
“We have approached the Town Hall and asked about the premises as the people that have got planning permission have not signed it off yet.
“So we put forward a bit saying we don’t really want another bar and it would make a fabulous community centre that we could do all kinds of work from.”
The group have further ambitious plans as once the centre is established within the community they hope to expand further in the Village.
“There is also a space where the Mongolian Barbecue used to be and inside there are about 50 small offices. We thought something like that would be great if we could rent it,” she said.
“It’s not all that expensive if we rent it out at £25-30 a week for little workshops where gay people could maybe make jewellery.
“That building could employ 40-50 people in their own businesses to give them a start in life. That would attract people to the Village during the day and not for the drinking culture.”
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