While we love to see a wave of LGBTQ+ support during pride month, we have to recognize and continue to partner with leaders that are committed to protecting queer health and queer advocacy every day.

Today, we are highlighting Scout, the Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network.  Scout is on the frontlines – not just leading education efforts within the LGBTQ+ community, but also training health providers on how to properly serve the LGBTQ+ community members. 

The connection between legislation, visibility, and mental health are pretty apparent. Through these trainings, Scout is able to unpack in great detail how harmful legislation continues to silence and erase people who identify as queer. This hurt doesn’t just impact research negatively but has a lasting effect on the community’s mental and physical health.

Scout poses the question, “How are we going to trust the people who unfortunately provide most of that safety net care?”

As we move out of Pride month, let’s really examine how we realistically can create a healthcare system – from clinical trials to routine visits – that is truly inclusive?  

Scout’s work is communicating to organizations that ensuring safety, understanding and representation of the LGBTQ+ space means it’s time to be included in the data. He is clear that this is essential, and if organizations want to really walk the walk, it is not optional.

We’ll talk more about how we can support The National LGBT Cancer Network in a future blog. For now, you can check out the exceptional work Scout and his team are doing at cancer-network.org.