Journey to Pride Month 2023

Pride Month at Healthfirst is an opportunity to celebrate and embrace our differences as we seek a better future for all. Within our organization, the True Colors PRIDE Alliance Employee Resource Group (ERG) leads the charge to encourage all LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies to bring their whole, authentic selves to work and promote an environment that fosters productivity, camaraderie, awareness, and respect so that we can all coalesce around bringing a remarkable impact to our members, providers, and colleagues.

ERGs at Healthfirst unite disparate employee cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, experiences, and generations across the organization to build and foster a diverse, inclusive employee community that values the richness of all individuals and perspectives. In the communities that arise from this unity, people who identify with an ERG and their allies:

• Build a sense of belonging and safety
• Freely share their knowledge, experiences, and questions
• Celebrate cultures and communities
• Learn from and about each other and build relationships
• Learn about other topics beneficial to any employee

True Colors PRIDE Alliance ERG was formed in 2022, but the group’s origin harks back to an increased focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Healthfirst following the civil rights protests stemming from George Floyd’s death in 2020. A group of leaders from across the Healthfirst spectrum created three focus areas around member, provider, and employees. As a result of the Employee Work Group, the Pride Employee Incentive Committee (EIC) was formed in 2021, and Frank J. Romano Jr. D.H.A., AVP Enterprise Architecture at Healthfirst, volunteered to be the executive sponsor.

In June of 2021, Healthfirst and the Pride EIC celebrated the community with its first series of Pride Month events, which focused on educating Healthfirst employees in the LGBTQ+ community. This was known as the ABCs of LGBTQ+. Together with the Pride EIC, we included a “virtual parade” around NYC during which we detailed key LGBTQ+ sites and the history of each site’s journey toward becoming an iconic for the LGBTQ+ community! We also hosted a panel for Stonewall Speakers, an all-volunteer speaker's bureau comprising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, pansexual, and queer people and their allies. The panel consisted of folks explaining their journey during and after the 1980s and the AIDS epidemic. Many came “out of the closet” later in life, and we discussed why so many of the community remain in the closet.

In June of 2022, Healthfirst again hosted a number of activities with the theme “growing up gay.” We once again invited the Stonewall Speakers, and we held a panel that included two high school youths who spoke of the challenges confronting them at being “out” and a transgender woman who transitioned young and recounted how she came to know that she was born a woman in a man’s body. We were also proud to host a session that featured Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse Nightclub Attack and is an activist for the LGBTQ+ community and a strong advocate of gun control.

This year, we began celebrating Pride Month early by participating and fundraising for AIDS Walk New York, held on May 21, 2023. Nearly 40 employees walked side by side with our members to demonstrate what we mean by hyperlocal. The group raised more than $3,500 for AIDS research.

In 2023, the theme is “Drag you into Pride.” This is a result of the various and increasing pieces of legislation focused on diminishing the rights of Drag, Transgender, and the entire LGBTQ+ community. An educational program focused on drag queens and drag kings kicked off PRIDE.

We also reviewed all of the legislation that many states have passed against the Drag, Transgender, and LGBTQ+ community and stressed that folks—especially our Florida employees—need to get involved.

In addition to exploring this year’s Pride Month theme, Healthfirst hosted discussions for employees, with the goal of enriching knowledge around key issues that affect LGBTQ+ individuals and enjoyed celebrating LGBTQ+ culture with fun activities that include:

• LGBT healthcare
• Mental health
• Pride Month events to look forward to across the country
• TV, film, and music
• LGBT celebrities

Through awareness-building and education we hope to help employees and allies overcome  discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. Thank you to everyone who joined us this month. Healthfirst is proud to honor Pride now, tomorrow, and always.