(light 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.
Tammy: 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,
'cause I did have to look through a ton
of just really weird, random, like,
"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 support her and give her solid resources
that are gonna help her.
-: Safe resources. 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 Plus is a new initiative and a 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 Plus program.
It had information on pronouns and sexual orientations
and genders and everything, and definitions for everything,
which is just so cool
'cause I'd 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 of 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 back 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.
Tammy: 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."
(gentle music)