A PROUD LETTER FROM OUR CEO
Throughout June, we’ve been asking our community a simple but vast question: what does pride mean to you?
For me, Pride means belonging to a community, it means creating more space for healing, and it means bravely and openly being myself.
As a queer woman, Pride month means a lot to me personally. It’s a time for me to feel more connected to other people who have shared experiences with me, and to feel invited into the joy (rather than just the hardships) of being a little bit different in a world designed by and for straight people. As someone who came out in her 30s, I vividly remember being at ease in straight, mainstream culture. But it’s been healing for me to now have an annual reminder that I’m not alone - but rather a part of a bountiful, global community of people who (despite all our glorious variety) seem to “get” me.
As an eating disorder therapist, I’ve seen firsthand the toxicity that suppressing one’s true identity and desires can have on a person. Understandably, denying oneself permission to love who you love or be who you are often manifests in distortions in one’s relationship with food (appetite) and body (appearance). As a result, a disproportionate number of my eating disorder clients have been LGBTQ+ folks who either refused or felt unable to come out, sometimes even to themselves. It makes sense, then, that an essential ingredient in their recovery was about permission-giving and truth-telling. Once they accepted who they were and found a community in which they could be themselves, they were finally able to recover. For this reason, I firmly believe that being LGBTQ+ affirming is fundamental to being an ethical eating disorder provider.
Once my LGBTQ+ eating disorder clients accepted who they were and found a community in which they could be themselves, they were finally able to recover. For this reason, I firmly believe that being LGBTQ+ affirming is fundamental to being an ethical eating disorder provider.
Lastly, as a CEO, I want to acknowledge that it is exceedingly rare to see LGBTQ+ people in leadership positions. It is for this reason only that I share my story. If any LGBTQ+ (or otherwise marginalized) person struggling with an eating disorder sees that the CEO of Project HEAL is queer, than perhaps they will feel a little bit safer coming to Project HEAL for support, or perhaps they will envision for themselves a future on the other side of recovery that involves leadership. In any case, I’m proud to be a part of increasing LGBTQ+ visibility in the mental health field.
Thank you to all who have supported our LGBTQ+ Treatment Equity Project. Your generosity makes it possible for Project HEAL to focus a portion of our resources on the 38% of our applicants that are LGBTQ+ (it's not too late to donate).
Thank you to all the remarkable people who shared their stories with us during our HEALing with Pride Instagram Live series.
Thank you to our partners at Eating Recovery Center and Undone Beauty who have provided direct financial support to our LGBTQ+ Treatment Equity Project and who made our HEALing with Pride series possible.
Thank you as always to all the LGBTQ+ people in the Project HEAL family (staff, board, volunteers, partners, donors, beneficiaries, ambassadors, etc) who bring us truth, joy, and healing every day.
And a special thanks to all the straight and/or cis folks who tuned in to learn and support.
At Project HEAL, Pride isn't an exclusive celebration just for people who belong to the LGBTQ+ community. The simple fact is that the eating disorder recovery community includes a lot of LGBTQ+ people and we have to make the recovery community safer for them.
So, friends, Happy Pride from me to you! May we all - regardless of our identities - find places we belong, opportunities to heal, and the courage to let ourselves be truly seen.
Warmly,
Rebecca Eyre, LMHC
Chief Executive Officer
*cover photo credit to Renee Fisher