Every June, LGBTQIA+ Pride Month is celebrated around the U.S. in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which were integral in igniting the modern-day LGBTQIA+ liberation movement. Since then, Pride Month has been a time for queer and trans folx to come together in celebration of their identities and be out and loud about who they are as a counterpoint to the shame that is so often prevalent in these communities. 

As Pride Month comes to a close, we believe that it’s important to embrace the goals and the purpose of Pride every month. It’s no secret that LGBTQIA+ communities experience discrimination, and this goes far beyond societal expectations and biases. This discrimination impacts the support that queer and trans folx receive from their families and communities and ultimately affects their ability to build wealth and limits economic opportunities. 

Queer and trans folx don’t stop showing up as themselves after June is over, so it’s important that we continue acknowledging the challenges and accomplishments of LGBTQIA+ communities year-round. In honor of understanding how Pride can impact people every day, we decided to ask some Self-Help staff members who are part of Self-Help's internal LGBTQIA+ Caucus a question: 

What does Pride mean to you beyond Pride Month? 

Living Truthfully 

For me, Pride is about finding the courage to live truthfully every day — as a gay immigrant, as someone who grew up in a deeply religious community, a person of color, and as a person still learning to embrace every part of myself. It's not just a celebration — it's healing, reflection, and a showing up for others who are still searching for safety or a sense of belonging. 

Pride is in the quiet moments too: in the work I do, in the communities I support, and in the commitment to keep growing — mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s about creating the spaces I once needed, and helping others feel seen, valued, and free. 

-    Jorge Lopez Colunga (he/him), California & Washington State Business Development Officer 

Being Without Fear 

Having pride in who I am means the ability to state "my husband" without fear of the reactions or consequences. 

-    Lewis Dancy (he/him), Senior Vice President – Branch Operations & Training 

The Pursuit of Acceptance 

When I came out and told my conservative family that I was queer, it fractured our relationships. I was cut off from support, and for a time, I lived outside without a home. 

In pursuit of acceptance, I tried to go back into the closet and became very religious — even to the point of joining a Carmelite religious order.  

But closets are for clothes, and I was and am unable to hide who I am, so I could not stay inside that cloister.  

Family acceptance has been hard to come by — Only recently have I been in contact and striving to renew a relationship with one of my sisters. We met in person for the first time in years this past spring.  

Pride is, for me, about accepting myself and my own authenticity because that is crucial for building a good life for myself. Pride means that I have queer community where people like me love and accept ourselves and each other for who we are. Pride means that the internal fight is not to try and shape myself to fit into others’ expectations, but that I should simply be myself as I am. 

-    Sally Sears (she/her), Administrative Assistant 

Celebration of the In-Between 

For me, pride is sharing pure joy with the kids who sometimes didn’t quite fit in. Pride is acceptance of yourself and others and the best celebration of the in-between spaces of gender and sexuality. 

-    Anonymous, Self-Help staff member 

Fighting to Exist 

To me, Pride is about as diverse as the flag itself. Pride is about making the family you may not have had growing up, it's about being who you are each day, not who people think you should or shouldn't be. It's about overcoming not just the overt discrimination, but the small microaggressions from the people around you at work, school, and your personal life. I think above all, it's about the fight. We fight to have the right to exist, to be seen without hostility. We fight not just to love the people we want, but to also love ourselves in a world that tells us that's wrong. I used to think Pride was just a celebration in June, but it's really a rally call to stand up each day, to be seen, and live authentically. Sometimes that's a fun gathering, and sometimes that's a march. 

-    James Urbina (he/him), Universal Banker 

Finding Joy 

For me, Pride has become an integral part of who I am and how I view the world. There is fear — when my heart anxiously skips a beat every time I introduce “my wife” to a stranger, but I can’t help but choose to love her loudly. The stories I’ve heard in my communities have created a deep sense of empathy — the pain of my friends and loved ones pushes me to find injustices that lurk in our systems toward all marginalized communities and instills a sense of duty in me to do what I can to create awareness, to educate myself and others, and to fight for a better future. But there is also joy — a great, loud, expansive, rainbow-colored joy that I get a front-row seat to and that reminds me that joy can be an act of courage in this world that feels so often against us and that the small pleasures in life all make it worth fighting for. 

-   Christina Swindlehurst Chan (she/her), Writer & Content Manager 

The Purpose of Pride 

Pride to me represents not only a time of celebration and visibility for our community, but it is also self-acceptance and love. Being a woman of color, an immigrant, and a lesbian, the challenges and curveballs that society throws at me each and every day can be difficult. I find peace in knowing that during Pride month I can be surrounded by so many like myself that spread continuous love, kindness and support. It continues to give me hope. 

-    Aracely Villanueva (she/her), Digital Branch Supervisor 

At Self-Help, when we say we believe in ownership and economic opportunity for all, we mean ALL. We are grateful for our LGBTQIA+ members and communities. We hope you had a beautiful Pride Month and that we can all work to honor what it means to have Pride year-round. Thank you for being part of our community.