PHOENIX – The hallway at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center was crowded on a recent Wednesday in June. Among the chaos, a new nonprofit was garnering support for an overlooked demographic – LGBTQ+ veterans.
Thomas Ballan-Durán organized the Marching4Vets booth, passing out flyers for upcoming events and stickers with phrases like “You Matter.”
Ballan-Durán, who is a veteran, said he feels like LGBTQ+ veterans’ mental health gets brushed over too often.
“If you don’t feel you’re in a safe space or have that support, your mental health is gonna go down the drain,” Ballan-Durán said. “We have 22 veterans a day who kill themselves, and that’s 22 too many. So we don’t need the additional LGBTQ+ population to have those suicidal ideations as well. Like, everybody matters.”
Ballan-Durán served as a combat medic from 2004 to 2013. His time spanned the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, a U.S. federal policy that restricted LGBTQ+ members from serving in the military unless they were closeted.
Disheartened by the absence of LGBTQ+ resources for veterans in Phoenix, Ballan-Durán founded the nonprofit organization in 2025.
“It was very difficult serving during that time and having to hide my true identity,” Ballan-Durán said. “I understand how tough it can be for all these veterans … I wanted to create that safe environment for other veterans like myself.”
LGBTQ+ veterans’ mental health is at the heart of Marching4Vet’s mission and the activities they host.
In 2025, Marching4Vets raised over $1,500 for Ruck4Freedom, a community ruck – walking with a weighted backpack – where proceeds go towards veterans’ mental health services and interventions. The nonprofit also participates in fun runs for mental health, like Steps for Vets 5K.
Ballan-Durán’s goal is to help veterans build support systems and make friends with common understanding.
This can happen through casual community-building events like hikes, coffee meetups, pickleball matches and sporting events like Arizona Diamondbacks’ Pride Night . Marching4Vets is also set to participate in the Veterans Day Parade and Phoenix Pride Parade.
The nonprofit is the first of its kind in Arizona. Despite the lack of resources, the community is very much present. A 2018 report from RAND Corp found that 6.1% of current military personnel identified as LGBTQ+ nationwide.
An organization like Ballan-Durán’s needs all hands on deck. Ballan-Durán runs the nonprofit alongside his husband, Steve Ballan-Durán – who says he feels connected to the organization’s mission despite not being a veteran.
”It’s personal to help other veterans to be able to bring other veterans together and to bring awareness to these issues,” Steve Ballan-Durán said. ”It’s a way to fight oppression, discrimination. … It’s nice being able to do this side by side with Thomas.”
A national crowd is searching for this kind of community — not just Arizonans.
American Veterans for Equal Rights is the oldest LGBTQ+ veterans’ group in the United States. Danny Ingram is the organization’s treasurer.
“Creating safe spaces for veterans — particularly LGBTQ veterans — to find healing, is a very important mission,” Ingram said. “And to be able to do it in a safe space with people meeting together is vital to being able to share stories and traumas that they may not be comfortable sharing in other groups.”
Ingram says building this community is more important now than ever.
“The climate is just nasty right now. I think some very anti-gay people have been encouraged to come out and and and be vocal about their their dislike for LGBT people, almost they’re doing God’s will or something,” Ingram said.
Nevertheless, organizations like Ballan-Durán’s continue to provide a respite from the political administration. Marching4Vets is the first nonprofit for LGBT veterans in Arizona, and maybe it won’t be the last.
“We’re here to fight, and we’re here to say that, no, we’re humans,” Ballan-Durán said. “Like the Constitution says, ‘we the people.’ And that means all people.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
