A letter from Idaho Falls Pride:

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Today's social and political realities can feel overwhelming, intense, and isolating. As a queer community, we are being challenged left, right, and center, and everything we see and hear tells us so much about how others feel about us: from legislation on the highest levels, to local ordinances, to simply the opinions of the folks around us, it's easy to feel like these dark times will stretch on forever.

But nothing lasts forever, not even hate.

At Idaho Falls Pride, we stand together in building our community around us, sharing resources and being strong in our love for one another. Our stories and experiences have the power to change our world and rekindle warmth and even joy in these uncertain times. But even in the desert, no one is an island; we know, historically, that the way to get through hard times is by holding each other close.

We must nurture our communities where we find them, in any ways that we are able. To encourage community-building in these unprecedented times, when so much hardship lay before us, we have suggestions on how to find support and take action:

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• Visit our Resources Page to connect with mental health and medical health care providers.

• Visit our Idaho Falls community coffee and pastry social every Saturday from 1:00-3:00pm at Elevate Bake Shop to build relationships.

• Join the regional Queer Southeast Idaho discord server for connecting with folks across Southeast Idaho (email idahofallspride@gmail.com for the link).

• Donate to organizations that support the queer community in our area and across the state, such as Trans Affirm, Inc., Flourish Point, or Gate City Pride.

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Hatred and misinformation thrive in an environment of alienation. We must stand by each other, hand-in-hand, so that we nurture ourselves and our communities to survive these dark times. It will be a long four years ahead, and there will be long-lasting effects of whatever happens next, but we must keep the "unity" in "community" and keep hold onto the queer joy and love that we each deserve.

Together, we can turn uncertainty into action, find hope in our fears, and transform our loneliness into a strong and resilient community.

You are loved, and you are valued, and most importantly, you are not alone. Together, we will continue to thrive.