Piece by Nikki Hayden (she/her), CNWL psychological wellbeing practitioner, Co-Chair and Trans Lead of the LGBTQ+ Pride@CNWL Staff Network.

"For many people, Pride is a celebration. It is colour, music, protest, community, chosen family and joy.

"For the trans community, Pride is all those things, but it is also something deeper. It’s a reminder that our visibility has been hard won. It can be joyful and affirming, but it can also bring up memories of the times when being visible did not feel safe.

"Like many trans people, I know what it means to grow up without the language to fully explain who you are. I know what it means to search for people who reflect your experience and to wonder whether there is space in the world for someone like you. That is why representation matters. When we see trans people living openly, working in our communities, leading services, creating art, accessing healthcare, loving, thriving and growing older, it tells us that our lives are possible too.

"In my work in mental health, I have seen how powerful it can be when people feel listened to without judgement. For trans people, a small act of respect can carry enormous meaning: using the right name, using the right pronouns, not making assumptions, recognising that gender identity is only one part of a whole person.

Pride also means community. Through Pride@CNWL and wider LGBTQ+ spaces,

I have seen how important it is to create places where people can speak honestly, connect with others and feel held by people who understand. These spaces matter because they offer more than celebration. They offer solidarity.

"To me, Pride in the trans community is an act of survival, remembrance and hope. Pride is the right to be visible. It is the right to be celebrated, but also the right to be ordinary. It is the right to exist without apology."

For me, that is why Pride still matters.

London Trans Pride will be celebrated this year on Saturday 25 July and Nikki will be attending with other CNWL colleagues alongside family and friends.