June is LGBTQIA+ Pride month, and the Hays County Commissioners Court made a proclamation recognizing this celebratory time of year at the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
Matthew Gonzales, Hays County Local Health Department manager, said Pride is important because it commemorates and celebrates queer existence and “memorializes the lives lost as a result of discrimination.” Gonzales said that the LGBTQIA+ community still faces challenges that are rooted in inequity and discrimination.
“For example, here are some of the health disparities faced by this community: two-thirds of LBGTQ+ people reported needing a mental health service over the past two years compared to four in ten of non-LGBTQ+ people. Surveys regularly find that in the LGBTQ community, people are more regularly than non-LGBTQ members to experience mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, which can result from ongoing experiences of discrimination, stigma and violence,” Gonzales said. “These challenges can be corrected when organizations such as Hays County commit to celebrating and honoring diversity when opportunities arise. … According to McKinsey and Company, employees feel included when both their direct day to day experience and their perception of organization-wide support are positive.”
