Springfield, MA – Helix Human Services staff and supporters gathered to raise the pride flag to honor the history, achievements, and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Staff and supporters of Helix Human Services gathered outside the administrative building on June 3 to raise the Pride flag. Several staff spoke including Yamilca Nogue (Chief Relations Officer), Michelle Laferriere (Family Support Specialist), Jessica Robertson (Clinician at SHARP), Mark Paglia (Chief Executive Officer), and long time Board Member Meg Beturne.
“The importance of living as one’s authentic and true self is a crucial component to a youth’s well-being. To be gifted with such an opportunity which should be automatic, but unfortunately still is not in today’s world, takes acceptance and an ability to set aside one’s own judgement. No one knows one’s own identity better than the individual themselves” said Michelle Laferriere, Family Support Specialist at Helix Human Services.
History of the Pride Flag
The first iteration of a pride flag debuted in 1978 at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. Since then, there has been many versions with colors added to represent different populations. During this flag raising ceremony, we rose the Progress Pride Flag. This flag has the added light blue, white, and pink stripes representing the Trans community. The black and brown stripes represent communities of color. In addition, the black stripe also represents the thousands of lives lost to HIV/AIDS. Read more about the history of pride flags on the Human Rights Campaign website.
Supporting the LGBTQIA+ Community
Helix Human Services has always supported marginalized populations. SHARP, a 12-bed residential program of Helix that supports youth who identify within the LGBTQIA+ community, opened in the 1980s. Today, SHARP is one of just three residential homes in the state of Massachusetts that serves the LGBTQIA+ population. We recognize there is an ever-growing need to expand these services. SHARP promotes the improvement of self-esteem, life skills, adult readiness skills, a sense of personal identity, emotional regulation skills, the development of healthy coping skills and interpersonal relationship strategies. Our goal is for our residents to leave our program with the skills necessary to find success within the community.
About Helix Human Services
Helix Human Services provides trauma-informed therapeutic and educational services to diverse children and families, building the foundation for lifelong success at home, school, and in the community. We do everything in our power to help traumatized children, families, and adults find their resilience and strength.
Learn more about the SHARP residential program here.
Western Mass News article here
22 News WWLP article here