(calm music)
-: Sophia came out when she was 13,
probably going into the eighth grade,
but we had kind of a feeling something was up.
-: I had no idea who I was at the time
and I was trying to figure it out.
And it was so hard to find resources or people
that really understood what I was going through.
-: She did, probably battled some depression
when she was about preteen.
I think a couple of times we would say,
"Do you think something to be concerned about?"
-: Yeah. She started kind of shutting down.
-: It was terrifying coming out to them.
I put Post-it notes on their bed
that just said, "Guess who's straight?
Not your daughter. She's gay."
The hardest part about coming out was just trying to figure
out if this was actually what I was feeling,
because I did have to look through a ton of just really
weird, random "Am I gay?" quizzes online.
Because it's the only resource I could really find.
-: It was nerve wracking knowing she's
out there looking for resources.
And we are sitting here trying to, you know, support her
and give her a solid resources
that are gonna, you know, help her.
-: Safe resources. We want safe,
credible, supportive resources.
-: To have specific care for the queer community,
the LGBT community is very important,
just so that you can at least hear what you need to hear
or get the support that you need.
-: Pride 365+ is a new initiative,
on part of Optum, to create awareness,
but also support, for the LGBTQ community,
family members, people that are allies.
-: My mom was the person that originally
introduced me to the Pride 365+ program.
It had information on pronouns and sexual orientations
and genders and everything,
and definitions for everything,
which is just so cool because
I never really seen that before.
Especially not something that was so public
and available for people that needed that support.
-: If I was a new parent and finding out about my own child,
or somebody else, to have that kind of resource available
to me, to be able to learn, it's huge.
It would've taken so much of that anxiety
and the worry and stuff out of it,
I think, had we had someplace to go that quickly
and easy to find that much information.
-: It would have been so much easier for me.
If anything, it would have just been easier for me
to talk to my parents about this.
-: It's important that everybody feels cared for.
As a nurse, I can tell you that everybody needs
to know that they're worth the time and the energy.
-: It's very important to at least know
that you're not alone in what you're going through.
Just feeling extremely isolated can be so hard
for someone's mental health.
Honestly, if I could talk to my middle school
self right now, I would say you're doing so good.
(calm music ends)