Statement on LGBTQ+ Pride Month

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. For Pride Month, we recognize the contribution and impact LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus, or just queer) individuals have made to society. The LGBTQ+ community has had to fight for acceptance, inclusion, and civil rights in a society that has historically shunned their very existence. The LGBTQ+ community continues to face many obstacles for their individual mental health and well-being, and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health stands in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ family, friends, and neighbors.

As a mental health foundation, fighting the mental health effects of homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry is at the core of who we are. We must address, and sometimes fight injustice that plague the queer community. The health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals must be a priority. We recognize that our primary goal, improving mental health in everyday life for Texans, cannot be reached while the LGBTQ+ community is under constant scrutiny and remains unjustly targeted by the policies and opinions of our leaders.

In addition to these policies and opinions, the queer community faces many other obstacles for their mental health and well-being:

LGBTQ+ individuals are all at higher risk than the heterosexual, cisgender population for suicidal thoughts and attempts.
40% of transgender adults have attempted suicide in their lifetime, as compared to 5% of their cisgender peers.
48% of LGBTQ+ youth reported they wanted counseling from a mental health professional but were unable to receive it in the past year.
Nearly half of queer youth attempted suicide in 2021.

However, we know there is hope. LGBTQ+ youth who had access to spaces that affirmed their sexual orientation and gender identity reported lower rates of attempting suicide. The Hogg Foundation vows to continue the fight for the mental health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community in Texas and beyond. We will continue to testify on the life-saving effects of gender-affirming care. We will continue to speak to the detrimental harms of any policies that target LGBTQ+ individuals and families. We will cherish and value the individual stories of the queer community, especially those at the intersection of being LGBTQ+ and other historically excluded groups, including persons of color, immigrants, and the disabled. Lastly, we will provide a way to find LGBTQ+ Mental Health Resources in Texas. And it doesn’t end there, this month, as we celebrate pride, we will examine the mental health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community in a series of blog posts, podcasts, and social posts.

By uncomfortably confronting homophobia, transphobia, and systemic bigotry, we can finally acknowledge the hurt our society has caused, and help our LGBTQ+ family, friends, and neighbors heal.

To the LGBTQ+ Community, we don’t just celebrate Pride Month with you, we celebrate you.

The University of Texas at Austin

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