Dear Friends,
At such a hard moment, we want to first and foremost remind you, this beautiful LGBTQ+ community that we get to be part of: You are loved. You matter. We need you. We need all of us. We are not alone and we have each other. Hold that, and each other, close. We have included resources below that are available to our community.
I know we are all processing the news of Tuesday’s election really differently. Whether we are in deep mourning and moving through grief for what this means for our and so many communities, or grappling with rage and anger at how much is broken and the reality of who people are, or just numb, trying to make sense of the next step, or even ready to move to organizing action — wherever you are at is the right place for you to be. I hope we can create space and grace for each of us to move through what we need to.
Because the work in front of us just got exponentially harder—and exponentially more necessary. We are facing an extraordinarily hard reality, and we will need to prioritize self and community care and wellness on the long road ahead.
We have given our staff team the space to move through our feelings and our own process of what is to come. Much like the day after we’ve lost someone we love, many of us simply needed time to feel and process before responding into action.
And today, many of us found ourselves clear-eyed and energized about what we do next.
While we don’t know everything yet, what we do know is this:
Pride Foundation was built from and for moments exactly like this. We were founded during a time when our country had turned its back on our LGBTQ+ community. Through our collective work, we carved out the protection, support, and connections we needed – and that’s what we’ll continue to do now.
We will be prepared for what lies ahead. We are in the process of building the additional supportive structures and programs that will help our community withstand what will be coming at us. We are in this for the long haul, and we will need all of you on that path with us.
And most importantly, we know our community is brilliant, powerful, and has built the stamina to persevere through so much.
We will fight like hell for our communities, build what we need to get through this, and hold each other through all that is to come.
With love and solidarity,
Katie