Thomas Ballan-Durán stood behind the Marching4Vets booth, passing out flyers for upcoming events and stickers bearing messages such as “You Matter.”
A veteran himself, Ballan-Durán says the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ veterans are too often overlooked.
“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 says. “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, a period that included the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. The federal policy allowed LGBTQ+ service members to remain in the military only if they kept their identities private.
After seeing a lack of resources for LGBTQ+ veterans in Phoenix, Ballan-Durán founded Marching4Vets in 2025.
“It was very difficult serving during that time and having to hide my true identity,” Ballan-Durán says. “I understand how tough it can be for all these veterans … I wanted to create that safe environment for other veterans like myself.”
Mental health is central to Marching4Vets’ mission and the events it hosts.
In 2025, the organization raised more than $1,500 through Ruck4Freedom, a community ruck, or walk with a weighted backpack, benefiting veterans’ mental health services and interventions. Marching4Vets also participates in mental health-focused events such as the Steps for Vets 5K.
Ballan-Durán’s broader goal is to help veterans build support systems and form friendships with people who share similar experiences.
The organization creates those connections through hikes, coffee meetups, pickleball matches and community events such as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Pride Night. Marching4Vets is also scheduled to participate in the Veterans Day Parade and Phoenix Pride Parade.
Marching4Vets is the first nonprofit of its kind in Arizona. While resources remain limited, the community it serves is substantial. A 2018 RAND Corp. report found that 6.1% of active-duty military personnel nationwide identified as LGBTQ+.
Running an organization like Marching4Vets takes a team. Ballan-Durán leads the nonprofit alongside his husband, Steve Ballan-Durán, who says he feels deeply connected to its 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 says. “It’s a way to fight oppression, discrimination. … It’s nice being able to do this side by side with Thomas.”
The need for this kind of community extends far beyond Arizona.
American Veterans for Equal Rights is the oldest LGBTQ+ veterans organization in the United States. Danny Ingram, the organization’s treasurer, says spaces like Marching4Vets can play a vital role in helping veterans heal.
“Creating safe spaces for veterans, particularly LGBTQ veterans, to find healing is a very important mission,” Ingram says. “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 that sense of community is especially important now.
“The climate is just nasty right now. I think some very anti-gay people have been encouraged to come out and be vocal about their dislike for LGBT people, almost like they’re doing God’s will or something,” Ingram says.
Still, organizations such as Marching4Vets continue to offer LGBTQ+ veterans a sense of safety and belonging. It may be the first nonprofit of its kind in Arizona, but Ballan-Durán hopes it will not be the last.
“We’re here to fight, and we’re here to say that, no, we’re humans,” Ballan-Durán says. “Like the Constitution says, ‘we the people.’ And that means all people.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News.
