Celebrating Pride Month: Samantha Carrell

We con­tin­ue our con­ver­sa­tion on Pride Month. Today, we hear from Saman­tha Car­rell, Patient Excel­lence Rep­re­sen­ta­tive at QMG, on what this month means to her and the impor­tance of shar­ing her sto­ry to reach others.

“Pride Month is a time for the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty to be able to stand up for the right to love and sup­port every­one who has been judged. It’s a time to remem­ber the ones who lost their lives because of their lifestyle. It’s a time to cel­e­brate how far the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty has come even though there is still a lot more that can be done,” she shared.

This month is impor­tant to Car­rell, but her hope is that the cel­e­bra­tion and aware­ness that comes with it, goes beyond the month of June.

“When say­ing ​‘Pride Month,’ it feels like the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty can only cel­e­brate one month a year. I would like my peers to know that it should not just be in one month in the year,” Car­rell said. ​“The LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty should be cel­e­brat­ed every day. The com­mu­ni­ty is wor­thy of respect and accep­tance for who we/​they are no mat­ter what month of the year it is.”

Men­tal health among the LGBTQ+ is a top­ic that Car­rell feels most pas­sion­ate about and shares that she believes the LGBTQ+ com­mu­ni­ty has a high rate of men­tal health concerns.

“We need to give sup­port to each oth­er. Lis­ten­ing, with­out judg­ment, is a good way to start,” she said. ​“If some­one is hav­ing a hard time with their men­tal health, please lend a help­ing hand. Whether it’s being a shoul­der to lean on or reach­ing out to a men­tal health pro­fes­sion­al, please do what you can to help. You nev­er know what that per­son is going through.”

Car­rell feels work­ing in health­care has giv­en her a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to show accep­tance and under­stand­ing. She aims to pro­vide that for every­one she sees.

“It takes a spe­cial per­son to work in the health­care field. You should have an open mind. There are many dif­fer­ent walks of life walk­ing in the doors. Every­one needs to be treat­ed with respect and they need to feel safe, no mat­ter what their back­ground is, no mat­ter their lifestyle. Every­one needs to feel welcomed.”