06/08/2026
A statement from Porchlight's Executive Director, Cameron Dearlove, in response to Events at the City of Cambridge’s Pride Event.
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A Response to Events at the City of Cambridge’s Pride Event
Last week, at an event organized by the City of Cambridge for Pride Month, a young person who had been invited to speak was interrupted by Cambridge’s Mayor and asked to change their speech to omit personal perspective and experiences that were directly relevant to the reason Pride Month exists.
Young people deserve opportunities to share their experiences, perspectives, hopes, and concerns. This is especially true when they are speaking about issues that directly affect their lives at an event meant to demonstrate that our community is a welcoming place for them. When a young person is interrupted by a community leader while sharing their lived experience, it risks sending a message that some voices are less welcome, less valued, or less deserving of being heard.
Porchlight Counselling and Addiction Services is a community mental health organization: We know that belonging matters. We also know that individual acts of exclusion can contribute to discrimination and stigma and have real impacts on individual and community mental health.
Local Waterloo Region data from the Children and Youth Planning Table tells us that q***r, trans, and gender-diverse youth experience significantly higher rates of bullying, discrimination, loneliness, anxiety, and depression than their peers. These are not abstract statistics. They represent young people in our schools, neighbourhoods, and families who are navigating challenges that many adults never see. Every year when we attend the local GSA conference, we hear from youth who still do not feel safe being their full selves at home or in the broader community.
Pride exists because generations of 2SLGBTQIA+ people spoke up about injustice and demanded change. While Pride is a celebration of community, joy, and resilience, it is also rooted in protest. It asks us to examine the barriers that continue to prevent people from fully participating in community life and challenges us to build systems, institutions, and communities where everyone can thrive.
That work is not finished.
This Pride Month, we encourage our community to move beyond performative expressions of inclusion and engage in the harder work of listening, reflection, and action. We must ask ourselves what needs to change in our organizations, governments, public spaces, and behaviours to ensure that q***r and trans young people are not only welcome, but genuinely heard, respected, and valued.
A Response to Events at the City of Cambridge’s Pride Event
Last week, at an event organized by the City of Cambridge for Pride Month, a young person who had been invited to speak was interrupted by Cambridge’s Mayor and asked to change their speech to omit personal perspective and experiences that were directly relevant to the reason Pride Month exists.
Young people deserve opportunities to share their experiences, perspectives, hopes, and concerns. This is especially true when they are speaking about issues that directly affect their lives at an event meant to demonstrate that our community is a welcoming place for them. When a young person is interrupted by a community leader while sharing their lived experience, it risks sending a message that some voices are less welcome, less valued, or less deserving of being heard.
Porchlight Counselling and Addiction Services is a community mental health organization: We know that belonging matters. We also know that individual acts of exclusion can contribute to discrimination and stigma and have real impacts on individual and community mental health.
Local Waterloo Region data from the Children and Youth Planning Table tells us that q***r, trans, and gender-diverse youth experience significantly higher rates of bullying, discrimination, loneliness, anxiety, and depression than their peers. These are not abstract statistics. They represent young people in our schools, neighbourhoods, and families who are navigating challenges that many adults never see. Every year when we attend the local GSA conference, we hear from youth who still do not feel safe being their full selves at home or in the broader community.
Pride exists because generations of 2SLGBTQIA+ people spoke up about injustice and demanded change. While Pride is a celebration of community, joy, and resilience, it is also rooted in protest. It asks us to examine the barriers that continue to prevent people from fully participating in community life and challenges us to build systems, institutions, and communities where everyone can thrive.
That work is not finished.
This Pride Month, we encourage our community to move beyond performative expressions of inclusion and engage in the harder work of listening, reflection, and action. We must ask ourselves what needs to change in our organizations, governments, public spaces, and behaviours to ensure that q***r and trans young people are not only welcome, but genuinely heard, respected, and valued.
Elected officials and community leaders have a particular responsibility to model respectful engagement with young people, especially those from marginalized communities. Leadership is not about deciding which experiences are comfortable enough to hear. It is about listening with humility, making space for difficult truths, and taking responsibility when harm occurs.
At Porchlight, our work is grounded in the belief that every person deserves dignity, respect, and access to compassionate support. We believe healing happens when people feel safe enough to tell the truth about their experiences and when communities are willing to listen.
We want 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and their families to know that Porchlight offers affirming counselling and mental health supports. You are not alone. Your voice matters. You belong here.
Because supporting mental health begins with listening.
Sincerely,
Cameron Dearlove
Executive Director
Porchlight Counselling and Addiction Services
