In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, New York police swarmed the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in a surprise raid.
Under the auspice of a missing liquor license, the underlying intent was to arrest the patrons at the gay establishment. But within minutes, those same officers were barricading themselves inside the Stonewall as a riot erupted outside. This time, instead of compliance, the patrons — joined by neighborhood residents — fought back.
That night of shock, awfulness, and panic turned into fight and fury. Turned into a movement, a march, a parade. The Stonewall uprising is now considered a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and the impetus for what we now know as Pride Month.
Fast forward 56 years and 10 states to the west (depending on your route), and Monterey will hold its seventh-annual Pride parade on June 28, winding from Polk Street to Pearl and down Alvarado, ending at Custom House Plaza. And for the third year, Montage Health will be a proud sponsor.
“We have an incredible group of volunteers, employees, family, and friends who march in a show of unity, support, and pride,” says Melissa Atwell, a nursing director at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and a member of the Monterey Peninsula Pride board. “It is inspiring.”
The parade ties to our mission and vision here at Montage Health. We care for all, no matter who they are, their ability to pay, their sexuality, their gender identity. It doesn’t matter. Montage Health is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for the LGBTQIA+ community through culturally sensitive, inclusive, and gender-affirming care.
— Melissa Atwell, Nursing Director, Montage Health
Kearnan Welch, DO, helps provide that care as an endocrinologist at Montage Medical Group. He’s also a member of Montage Health’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee, specifically contributing to the LGBTQIA+ sub-committee.
“I myself am gay,” says Welch, who trained at the University of California, Davis, where he was part of a student-run transgender clinic. “My husband and I have two kids.”
Welch’s interest in gender-affirming care is steeped in his own life experiences.
Montage Health staff and volunteers show their support at the 2023 Monterey Peninsula Pride parade.
“Having multiple ways to understand a person’s identity and how they express themselves is important,” says Welch, who provides treatments such as hormones or blockers for other hormones. “Most patients I see come to see me to start or adjust their hormones. But I am here to help be a support for them and ensure they are connected to resources, if needed, such as mental health resources and speech therapy."
Welch and his family will be there for this year’s June 28 parade.
“Pride feels like community, being around those who accept you for all of who you are without question or judgment,” he says. “It feels like being with like-minded people with like-minded experiences. We’ve all had cuts and bruises from our society, some level of oppression, some low-lying trauma, high-grade trauma. With Pride, it’s like you’re accepted into a community — trauma, cuts, bruises, and all.”
Atwell and the rest of the Montage Health volunteers will represent at the parade, proudly adorned in their “Pride in Healthcare” T-shirts.
“It makes me proud to be part of this organization,” Atwell says. “An organization that truly does care for our entire community.”
