June is Pride Month. Around the world during Pride, communities gather to celebrate LGBTQ+ people and their achievements. These gatherings also protest ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and advocate for equality, freedom and safety for all.

Today’s Pride gatherings trace their history back to the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, a multi-day series of demonstrations sparked by a police raid on a popular gay bar in New York City. The first Pride marches were held one year later, in 1970.

Now, 56 years later, Pride events around the world continue to bring LGBTQ+ community members and allies together to support one another — including LGBTQ+ youth.

LGBTQ+ youth often face serious social inequities, including discrimination. But research has shown that being part of supportive communities can help protect these youth against negative mental health outcomes.

For example, LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to attempt suicide if they live in communities generally supportive of their rights, such as those with greater protections for same-sex couples and with schools that have supportive policies. Additionally, LGBTQ+ young people who feel supported by their parents and schools have better mental health outcomes.

This highlights the importance of addressing discrimination and supporting LGBTQ+ youth, for everyone’s benefit. For more information, see Volume 11, No. 2 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.