A/Prof Yael Perry and Holly Moss at The Kids’ Youth Mental Health stall.
Mental Health team leader Associate Professor Yael Perry has said it was “uplifting” to see a turnout of approximately 1500 people at last week’s Albany Pride 2025 Fair Day.
The annual fair, one of 38 diverse events planned for this year’s festival, saw an estimated 1500 members come together to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.
The fair began with a Welcome to Country by Menang-Noongar Elder Vernice Gillies, after which performances, entertainment, food trucks and stalls could be explored throughout the day.
Among the attendees were A/Prof Perry and Project Coordinator Holly Moss, who represented The Kids Research Institute Australia at the Albany Town Square fair with their own stall.
The booth included informative reports, flyers, and artwork on LGBTQA+ mental health programs and research developed by the team. Resources included community reports on the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people and suicide prevention guidelines for clinical and community service providers working with LGBTQA+ youth.
Fairgoers were also encouraged to vote on LGBTQA+-related research priorities by placing stickers on topics they felt were most important and suggesting additional research they would like to see happen.
A/Prof Perry noted The Kids’ attendance at the event highlighted the importance of regional communities being adequately represented in research.
The majority of votes were placed on suicide prevention in LGBTQA+ youth, as well as LGBTQA+ inclusive health professional training and transgender youth mental health.
It’s uplifting to find that today’s young people actively speak out on the changes they want to see being made. Their voices are important in helping us see what we might have not attended enough to.
In collaboration with the Youth Pride Network, A/Prof Perry and her team are about to undergo consultation with young people in support of the Western Australian government’s first whole-of-government LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Strategy.
Attendees voted to help shape research priorities at The Kids.