Friend, do you love PFLAG San Diego County? Have you attended a support group, seen our booth at Pride, learned what’s going on in other parts of the county, informed a loved one or friend about our scholarships or any of the other resources we provide?

Your membership is what enables us to provide all these services. If you’re receiving this newsletter and aren’t yet a member, please sign up now at https://pflagsdc.org/membership. Membership starts at as little as $30/year for individuals, with $15 of that going to PFLAG National. (But higher levels of membership are always appreciated!) Join now and your membership is good through December 2023!

Help us continue our advocacy and education efforts supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in San Diego County. Become a Member now.

I Love You This Much

Photo by Robin Ooode on Unsplash

The U.S. Trans Survey (USTS)

🏳️‍⚧️ Give A Cheer, It’s Finally Here!

We have been anxiously waiting for the U.S. Trans Survey since March and it is open now through November 21, 2022. Please take the survey here https://www.ustranssurvey.org/. You may take it in English or Spanish. Allies are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

The U.S. Trans Survey is the largest survey of trans people, by trans people, in the United States. The USTS documents the lives and experiences of trans and nonbinary people ages 16+ in the U.S. and U.S. territories.

USTS reports have been a vital resource, including the reports on the experiences of people of color and reports by state. In 2015, nearly 28,000 people took the USTS. A lot has happened since then – hence, the new survey.

The trans survey will continue to be the largest, most diverse sample across all identities. Please spread the word to ensure that people of color, older people, those who live in rural areas, immigrants, Spanish speakers, those who are HIV+, and others hear about the survey. More than ever, it’s important to ensure that trans voices will shape the future

🎥 Asian Film Festival

PFLAG San Diego County will be giving out free tickets for Generation Queer, a series of six short films showing at 5:05 on November 5 at the Ultra-Star Theatre in Mission Valley – 7510 Hazard Center Drive, on a first-come, first-served basis. For tickets, please contact admin@pflag.com.

Palm Springs Pride Parade November

Palm Springs Pride Parade

We have been invited by Palm Spring PFLAG and PFLAG National to walk with them in in the Palm Springs Pride Parade November 6. All PFLAG participants will be treated to lunch in the park.

They are celebrating the kick-off of PFLAG’s 50th Anniversary with this very special Pride Parade and luncheon! There will be PFLAGers from all over the region and beyond, with Brian Bond, CEO of PFLAG National, leading the Parade as National Grand Marshall.

Anyone who would like to carpool to attend, please email admin@pflag.com for details.

🫡 LGBT Veterans Wall Of Honor

After being held virtually for the past three years, this year’s induction ceremony will be held on November 10, from 6:00-10:00 pm at The Center, 3909 Centre Street in Hillcrest. The evening will include a brief program with celebration of military colors, the National Anthem, recognition of inductees, and special remarks.

If you are planning to attend, masks are required and proof of vaccination including one booster.

Youth Leadership Academy 🙋

PFLAG SDC is proudly tabling at the annual Pride Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) on November 12, 8:30 am-7:00 pm. Sponsored by San Diego Pride, YLA was created to bring LGBTQ+ youth together from across the region to engage, educate, and inspire our next generation of leaders.

The Pride Leadership Academy has three tracks available; Youth Track for middle and high school-aged youth, Parent/Caregiver/Youth-Serving Professional Track, and for the first time in 2022- a TAY Track for young adults (ages 18-24). This track will provide young adults with the skills to make an impact on the causes they care about. The TAY track will focus on the professional and emotional development that our future leaders need to create the long-lasting change they wish to see in their communities.

Register at https://sdpride.org/yla

USD School of Law Name and Gender-marker Change Clinic

The Law School at USD has a Name and Gender-Marker Change Clinic that is virtual and free. They help transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming adults and minors legally change their name and/or gender in California. The last date for 2022 is November 15 and appointments can be scheduled at 6:30 pm, 7:00 pm, or 7:30 pm. Email: transclinic.sandiego@gmail.com to schedule an appointment or for more information.

18th Annual Mama’s Pies Fundraiser

🥧Mama is Calling

Mama’s Kitchen kicked off its 18th Annual Mama’s Pies Fundraiser and will continue until November 19. This is a bake-sale fundraising program that benefits Mama’s Kitchen—San Diego’s only free, county-wide home-delivered meals program for individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Volunteers sell Thanksgiving pies that are generously donated and baked by local caterers, casinos, restaurants, and bakeries. Pictured are PFLAG SDC members Bobbi Harwood and Dana Harwood.

Each pie sold allows Mama’s Kitchen to cook, prepare, and deliver 12 nutritious meals to their clients. Pies sell for $32 each with $15 being tax-deductible – you can’t go wrong! The choices are: apple, Dutch apple, pecan, and pumpkin. On a diet?  Consider buying a “Love-A-Client Pie” (a donated pie) for just $32 or make a donation. To order online: www.mamaspies.org and credit one of the 90 teams or individuals or order directly with the individuals. On Wednesday, November 23 (the day before Thanksgiving), you can pick up your pie order at one of the Public Pie Pickup Sites.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. When information is available on the LGBT Center’s event, we will post it on PFLAG SDC’s website and Facebook page.

Additionally, the week before TDOR, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise visibility for transgender people and address issues the community faces.

This is a time we memorialize, honor, and celebrate the lives tragically lost due to fatal anti-transgender violence and discrimination. These senseless murders are a global and national crisis that disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and migrant transgender womxn of color. TDOR is a day started in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith who began a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed a year earlier. Since then, it has become an important day to honor all of those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia and hate.

San Diego Women’s Chorus EVOLUTION

EVOLUTION

The San Diego Women’s Chorus (SDWC) invites you to join in its momentous 35th-anniversary celebration, EVOLUTION, on November 20 at 4:00 pm. This historic concert will take place at Lincoln High School, 4777 Imperial Avenue in San Diego.

Led today by Artistic Director Kathleen Hansen, and Assistant to the Artistic Director Calieanne Grossheim, SDWC’s EVOLUTION will guide audiences on a musical journey through the history and heritage of the choral group. The chorus has over 100 members.

Tickets may be purchased at https://sdwc.ticketleap.com/evolution/. Tickets for General Admission are $25, with $20 tickets available for youth, students, seniors, military, and disabled patrons. The performance will be ASL-interpreted for deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members.

The Great Believers

PFLAG SDC Book Club 📚

The next selection for the PFLAG SDC Book Club will be the novel The Great Believers. We’ll meet Tuesday, November 29, 7-8:15 p.m on Zoom for a discussion moderated by newsletter editor Louise Julig. You must register separately for each book club meeting. Use the link below to register.

The Great Believers is set in Chicago and tracks the relationships between a group of gay men and their families and friends from the beginning of the AIDS epidemic through to present day. Praised for its authentic historical accuracy of place and time as well as for its representation of the multiple layers of experience of the epidemic and its repercussions, this multi-award-winning novel was also the One Book, One San Diego selection for 2019.

We are proud to partner with Libélula Books and Co., a local queer-owned, Latinx-owned, Indigenous-owned independent bookstore at 950 South 26th Street in Barrio Logan. Check out their in-person location or buy the book through their Bookshop.org store. If audiobooks are more your thing, check out the indie-supporting Libro.com.

This year’s North County LGBT Resource Center’s 15th Annual Gala was a huge success. PFLAG SDC Board Member Jeri Nicolas played a large role in making this grand event happen. Pictured above are PFLAG SDC members Annette Ottone, Jeri Nicolas, and Remo Ottone.

(Spot lights vector created by pikisuperstar)

Are You Ready to Extend Your Leadership Skills and Expand Your Volunteerism in the LGBTQ+ Community?

PFLAG San Diego County is Seeking a President to Join Our Executive Team of 3 and 7 Members-at-Large to Create a positive thriving culture as we further our mission of Support, Education, & Advocacy. Interested Parties may contact Admin@pflag.com

Announcing PFLAG SDC Scholarships

PFLAG San Diego County is gearing up for our 25th year of offering scholarships to LGBTQ students who reside in San Diego County. The application, requirements, and other scholarship-related info will be on our web site by mid-late November at www.pflag.com/scholarships.

We are proud to continue our affiliation with The San Diego Foundation (TSDF). The Foundation is well regarded for its philanthropy and fiduciary management throughout our region. Our scholarships will continue to be selected through our own Scholarship Committee. We are maintaining our commitment that 100% of funds donated for scholarships goes to students. We encourage you to donate at www.pflag.com/support-our-students. All donations are 100% tax deductible (tax ID# 33-0512868). You may also make recurring donations.

We appreciate you spreading the word to LGBTQ high school seniors and full-time undergraduate/graduate students to apply for PFLAG scholarships. Half-time applicants will be considered with an explanation of the circumstances that prevents them from attending full-time. A minimum of 17 scholarships will be awarded in the amounts of $2000 or more. Our motto is “Change a life, change the world.” Help us continue to change lives.

For questions, contact scholarships@pflag.com.

PFLAG SDC AAPI Support Group Discontinuing

Our chapter does not currently have capacity to continue an exclusively AAPI support group, but there are others available.

San Gabriel Valley API PFLAG, founded in 2012, has partnered in the past to introduce an API support group to San Diego. They have marched with our chapter at San Diego Pride Parades. They meet every 4th Sunday of the month from 3:00 to 5:00pm.

Please join them Sunday, Nov. 27, at 3:00. Go to https://www.sangabrielvalleyapipflag.com/support-group.html to sign up to attend and learn about all that this group is involved in.

PFLAG National also has a monthly AAPI zoom meeting on the first Saturday of the month – next on Nov. 5 from 3:00-5:30 PT.
Sign up here to join and check it out what is happening nationally.
https://pflag.salsalabs.org/pflagconnectsasian-americanpacificislander110522/index.html?page=register

Our meetings are always open to everyone, and while we may have different cultural backgrounds we universally care about the health, safety, and well being for our LGBTQ+ loved ones. Through support, education, and advocacy we build a better community for everyone. We hope to see you at one of our meetings. See below and https://pflagsdc.org/support-meetings/

☎️ 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline Now In Place

The nonprofit that operates the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline launched a pilot program for LGBTQ individuals, veterans, and anyone who feels they may be experiencing a mental health crisis; you may call or text 988.

One of the goals is to dramatically decrease the number of calls made to 911 in the time of crisis, as 911 wasn’t set up to address mental health needs. Please note, this new program does not track your location.

😍 Thank You To Our Donors! 😍

Thanks to the following individuals who donated to PFLAG SDC this past month:

Krystal Herman
Yelena Rus
Joseph Taylor

And thanks to our regular monthly donors to PFLAG San Diego County. A monthly donation helps provide predictable sources of funding for our programs and scholarships and we appreciate it very much!

Anna Covici
Lonnie Brunini
Charles Kaminski
Maureen Steiner
Michael Wasilewski

Support Groups

❗️Note: some support group information has changed since last month

Support groups will continue to meet virtually until further notice. Check individual group for details. We encourage you to contact your support group facilitator at any time, as they will remain excellent resources for information. The support group locations, dates, and times will continue to be posted on the PFLAG San Diego County Facebook page. You can join in any of the digital meetings. For Zoom links, contact each support group.

Do You Shop On Amazon?

If you have an account with Amazon, you can help our chapter every time you shop. Go to smile.Amazon.com and search for PFLAG San Diego County. For every purchase, our chapter will receive .05% of the dollar amount of the order. This may not sound like a lot, but it adds up. So turn your Amazon habit into support for PFLAG!

Our Vision
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Our Mission
By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through: Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ+; Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ+; Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ+.