Depending on where you live in the United States, seeing LGBTQ+ Pride flags outside of homes, businesses, or religious institutions might feel anywhere from commonplace, to surprising, to worrisome for the owner’s safety. With Pride Month over, a number of corporations will slowly recede their rainbow designs and return to “normal” advertising and design. But for anyone who thinks that seeing a Pride flag doesn’t make a difference, at least one young LGBTQ+ person in Paris, Arkansas, let a neighbor know that’s far from true.

Stephanie Robertson, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, displayed a rainbow flag outside her home for all of June, according to her son. On July 2, she found a handwritten letter from a self-identified young LGBTQ+ person thanking her for being an ally and for flying the flag, as reported by PinkNews. And while there are some skeptics, many people on Twitter are deeply moved.  

Robertson’s son, 30-year-old Levi, told PinkNews his mom had been “excited” to hang the Pride flag for the first time this June. He told the outlet she texted him after receiving the letter in her mailbox and “couldn’t get over how sweet it was” to receive it. According to Levi, his mom plans to keep the flag up year-round.

Here is a photo of the letter.

“Hello this is probably kind of weird,” the letter reads. “But I walk past your house everyday and I’ve noticed your flag and I’m glad to know there is at least one ally in this little town — from a young LGBTQ+ person”

While some people on Twitter have suggested the note is fake, plenty of others are celebrating how touching the sentiment is and how meaningful it is for LGBTQ+ people of all ages to come across visible acceptance.

As Daily Kos has covered in the past, studies have shown that acceptance and affirmation from adults make a huge difference in the quality of life for LGBTQ+ youth, including literally reducing the rate of suicide attempts. At a time when Republicans are focused on distracting from their failures amid the novel coronavirus pandemic (and in general), we’re seeing anti-trans bills spring up across the nation. As Daily Kos continues to cover, these bills often target trans girls in sports but also hit trans folks in terms of birth certificates and age-appropriate gender-affirming medical care. Some legislations even tries to make it a felony for physicians to provide such medical care to patients.  

Hanging a Pride flag, of course, does not in itself negate the hateful actions of the GOP. But when it comes to building a safe community, every step counts, and fostering acceptance can—and in a sense, really should—grow on the local scale, too. LGBTQ+ youth may not watch the news or keep up with what’s happening in the world of electoral politics, but they’re certainly paying attention to who makes themselves known as a safe person in their day to day life, and that’s all the more reason for allies to step up and be brave. 

How can we help? You can support LGBTQ+ youth (and queer folks of all ages) by using the correct pronouns, validating people’s identities, and educating yourself on allyship. We also compiled a list of five free mental health and suicide prevention resources here.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255 in both English and Spanish.