Local opinion: Pride Month underscores challenges facing Southern Arizona LGBTQ+ programs

Every June, Pride Month reminds us why community is not optional. For SAAF, it is the foundation of everything we do. And this year, that foundation is being tested in ways that demand our collective attention.

Southern Arizona's LGBTQ+ community has always navigated difficulty with resilience and solidarity. What we face today is no different in spirit, but it is significant in scale. Federal funding reductions are already reshaping the landscape of community health services. With the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, further cuts are expected. For organizations like SAAF, which depend on federal support to cover just 28% of the maintenance costs for its 72 owned apartment units, these are not abstract policy shifts. They are decisions that affect whether a family has a place to sleep tonight.

In southern Arizona, SAAF is the safety net for people who often have nowhere else to turn. We are the region's largest provider of HIV/AIDS services, LGBTQ+ youth programs, harm reduction, housing and affordable healthcare. Last year, more than 1,500 people came to us for case management, leaning on our team to help them find housing, access medications and put food on the table. Speaking of food: our pantry serves nearly 300 people every month, and even at full capacity, we can provide only 30% of what a person needs. The gap between what we can offer and what our community needs is exactly why Pride Month and the support it generates matter so much.

Prevention is not a luxury. It is the reason we are not back where we started. Southern Arizona remembers what an unchecked epidemic looks like, and SAAF's prevention work exists to make sure we never return there. Last year, our team reversed 488 overdoses, conducted more than 1,500 HIV tests and distributed over 107,000 condoms across 26 sites. Hepatitis C cases are climbing nationally. Staying ahead of that curve requires sustained investment and a community that refuses to look away.

That commitment is never more urgent than when it involves young people. More than 1,700 LGBTQ+ youth walked through SAAF's EON Youth Lounge last year looking for a place where they could simply be themselves. According to The Trevor Project's national research, 41% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. Fourteen percent attempted it. Fifty-six percent of those who wanted mental health care could not access it. Those are not statistics. Those are kids. SAAF's education, harm reduction and anti-violence programs for youth ages 12 to 24 exist because affirming spaces save lives.

Research is clear: LGBTQ+ youth who have access to affirming spaces at home, in school and in their communities attempt suicide at significantly lower rates. SAAF is one of those affirming spaces. So is our summer camp. So is our annual Prom for youth who may not have a safe place to celebrate who they are.

The generosity of this community has been remarkable, and we are grateful for it. As public funding faces uncertainty, private support is stepping forward. Community health partners, including El Rio Community Health Center, the University of Arizona Peterson Clinic, LGBTQ Senior Pride, and TIHAN, are critical to this work. Together, we are ensuring that every person in southern Arizona who needs care can access it, regardless of income, identity or circumstance.

SAAF is also deepening its advocacy work. We are in active conversations with community partners about how to move forward together in an environment that requires us to be more organized, more visible and more unified than ever. Community conversations are underway. Advocacy initiatives are forming. We will not be sidelined. We are here, we are relevant and we are focused on building a future where the work we do today will no longer be as urgently needed.

This Pride Month, we invite you to join us. Not just in celebration, but in commitment. Come to community events. Volunteer. Donate. Speak up. The services SAAF provides save lives. Keeping them strong is a responsibility we share.

To learn more, visit saaf.org.