What Does Pride Mean to You?

LGBTQ

Jun 13

Hi! I’m Dana, the clinic owner at ThriveWell Counselling. To honour Pride month, the LGBTQ community and allies, the ThriveWell team wanted to celebrate by sharing what Pride means to us, and what we are most Proud of.

What does Pride mean to you?

Victoria Bowman:

For me, Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the equal rights of my friends, work mates, neighbours and loved ones, to hold hands with who they want, dance with who they want, love who they want, and marry who they want, every day for the rest of their lives!

Pride is also an opportunity for me to recommit that I will support everyone every day on the bus, in the streets, in places of worship and the legislature! And making sure that happens.

Habibi Feliciano Perez:

Pride to me means a celebration of diversity of culture, languages, abilities, lived experience, generations - anything! Pride is celebrating who we are today, who we have been and where we come from. Being Proud of who we are is a part of being ourselves!

I am Proud to say, that I am Proud of who I am today. I’m glad that I live in a place like Canada where I am able to celebrate all parts of my identity as they intersect together.

Dana Kamin:

Pride is honouring the lives of many brave Queer/Trans folks, who paved the way for us today

Sandy Lim:

Pride to me means equality and celebrating our ability to live as our true selves!

What are you Proud of?

Victoria Bowman:

I am Proud of my friends, family and loved ones who did everything to come out, braved tremendous odds, and went through things I can’t even imagine - to be their genuine selves - and to love the people they really, really wanted to love. And it was a tremendous cost to themselves.

The other thing I’m also Proud of, is my 12-year-old son, who at this point in his life is more compassionate and inclusive than I ever was at his age. If he is in any way indicative of what his peers are like, then we are in a much better state in humanity than I ever dreamed we could be. We have a lot to hope about.

Habibi Feliciano Perez:

I am Proud of who I am: as a queer man, in the LGBQT community, of colour, as an Arabic person, as a Latino person, and as someone who is a therapist working with mental health and addictions, helping people cope with their traumas from coming out, to relationship issues. I am Proud of who I am, and what I do, and being able to support people along their healing journey.

I’m Proud of me, and I’m Proud of us.

Dana Kamin:

I am Proud to support the mental health needs of so many fabulous and diverse LGBTQ folks.

Sandy Lim:

I am Proud to be a part of a team that is an ally to many. ThriveWell supports people with being comfortable in their own skin, and I think that’s important - for all of us to be able to accept who we are.