Happy PRIDE Month!

Happy PRIDE Month!

Every year on June 1st, we begin celebrating PRIDE month. The history behind the celebration began after police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York on June 28th, 1969. One year after Stonewall, “The Mother of PRIDE” (Brenda Howard) organized Gay Pride Week which eventually turned into what we now know as the New York City Pride March which can now be seen across the world every year, and is celebrated around the world.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), 40% of LGBTQ+ adults have experienced rejection from a family member or a close friend, and 86% of LGBTQ+ youth have reported being bullied, harassed and even assaulted at school. The LGBTQ+ community is at a high risk of mental health disorders and are four times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to the heterosexual and cis-gendered population.

Individuals within the LGBTQ+ community face many barriers to mental and physical health due to stigma which causes many individuals to experience trauma, abandonment from family and friends, and the fear of being judged by healthcare providers and not getting the proper treatment. According to Mental Health America (MHA), more than 1 in 5 Americans that identify as LGBTQ+ have said that they have withheld information about their identity/orientation while seeking care because of the fear of discrimination.

Please help support and advocate for all individuals within the LGBTQ+ community.

If you need to talk to someone you can reach out to the LGBT National Help Center online: http://www.glbtnationalhelpcenter.org/ or call (888) 234-7243.

The National LGBTQ+ Task Force provides information on advocacy, support and other information, as well as a yearly National LGBTQ+ convention for all in the LGBTQ+ community and Allies. Check out their website here: https://www.thetaskforce.org/

For more local resources, please visit the LGBT Center of Raleigh: https://www.lgbtcenterofraleigh.com/initiatives/queer-life-programs/triangle-plus.html or call (919) 832-4484.

Rebecca Bennett

Mental Health Student Intern