Kelly Houde, ally in action

Kelly Houde, RN, is the Practice Administrator for Urgent Care Centers at Southcoast Health. Part of the Southcoast Health community for over 25 years, she has served in her current role for about eight.  Apart from her professional role, Kelly is a proud mom to three adult children. Her daughter Ashton now also works in healthcare as a Nurse Practitioner.

Southcoast Health celebrates Pride Month

As Southcoast Health celebrates Pride Month this June, Kelly shared her experience as a mom to a daughter who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and talked about what the meaning of Pride Month is to her.

“I hope that Pride Month will always provide a way for people to become more familiar with the LGBTQ community,” she says. “I hope it helps others see that families are defined in many ways, and there’s no right or wrong way to define family or love.”

Children should view their families as a safe place and a haven for self-expression

As a parent, Kelly believes that children should view their families as a safe place and a haven for self-expression. The most important thing to her is to love, support and be there for her children. “I don’t look at my daughter’s sexuality any differently than I look at her as having brown hair,” she says. “She is who she is — a beautiful, young, intelligent, compassionate, caring, gifted, and wise young woman that we are blessed enough to call our daughter.”

The best tools for celebrating Pride Month are knowledge and kindness

In her experience, Kelly learned that the best tools for celebrating Pride Month are knowledge and kindness. Kindness is one of the biggest needs for this community, and she encourages others to take advantage of resources available for the LGBTQ+ community, families and allies.

Sharing her advice with others, Kelly recommends taking the time to become familiar with what being a member or ally of the LGBTQ+ community truly means. “Read about the heartaches, the triumphs, the goals and the needs of this community,” she says; “knowledge is power.” Kelly hopes these resources help bridge the gap between people who identify as LGBTQ+ and their families, and help create a more inclusive community overall.

Southcoast Health celebrates Pride Month in support of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, learn more.