Pride Month is different for everyone. For members of the LGBTQ+ community it’s a moment to celebrate and own their identity. For allies, it can be an opportunity to learn about and invest in showing up to support their queer peers. For everyone, it is about community—honoring different identities, fostering inclusion, and building a world where everyone feels loved, accepted, and supported as their authentic self. 

At Crisis Text Line, we believe inclusion is fundamental everywhere. For us, it starts in our office. We gather as an entire staff regularly to connect with each other, set goals, and support our team members. In honor of Pride Month, we were honored to hear from Lana Moore, a third-generation firefighter, GLAAD board member, and the first trans woman to be inducted into the City of Columbus Hall of Fame. 

Moore shared a bit about her experience transitioning as a firefighter. She shared that, for her, transitioning meant transitioning with the whole community—her family, her coworkers, her neighbors. When asked what we at Crisis Text Line can do to support the LGBTQ+ community, she emphasized the importance of understanding that queer people are just that: people. And, everyone has a core desire to be loved and accepted. 

The main takeaway? Everyone deserves love, respect, and compassion. 

Leading with kindness and love is something we try to infuse into everything we do here at Crisis Text Line. From the texters our Crisis Counselors support 24/7 to the way we create a culture around love and acceptance in our office, we believe that everyone should be able to be authentically ourselves. We know there is a lot of work to do. We must learn, listen, and act to create inclusive spaces in our offices and at our texters’ fingertips. So, we’ll keep learning and listening. And, we’ll take pride in how far we’ve come.

Thank you, Lana, for sharing the afternoon with us. We are so grateful.