Friend, welcome to 2024! This year your PFLAG SDC Membership is more vital than ever. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise, and some San Diego County school boards are causing harm through their policies (see article below). In response, PFLAG SDC members are advocating, attending meetings, and supporting our LGBTQ+ loved ones, but we need your support! In addition, PFLAG National is monitoring discriminatory legislation and suing four states.
Our scholarship program is thriving. In 2023 we awarded more than $50,000 to LGBTQ+ students and plan to grant even more in 2024. We are now accepting applications for the 2024 scholarships (see article and link below).
We now offer four monthly in-person support groups and two virtual groups. The North County Coastal group will shift from virtual to in-person meetings starting in February.
We can only do this vital work because of you, so join as a new member or renew your membership today. You can do this from our website at www.pflagsdc.org/membership/ or send your renewal to PO Box 82762, San Diego, CA 92138.
We wish you all a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2024.
Sincerely,
Nancy Colbert
She/Her/Hers
President
PFLAG San Diego County
North County Coastal Support Group Schedule Changes
No January meeting for the North County Coastal Support Group. North County Coastal will transition to in-person meetings at a new day of the week and time in February. Beginning February 7, this group will meet on the first Wednesday of the month from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pilgrim UCC Church, 2020 Chestnut Avenue in Carlsbad, and be facilitated by Heidi Meyer, heidim@pflagsdc.org (email address functional as of January).
There is no amount of thank-you’s that would suffice to Annette Ottone and Kurt Dearie for all the years they served as facilitators of the North County Coastal support group. We appreciate and love both of you. In addition to her facilitator duties, Annette also served as Regional Director for the past ten years. We salute you both for a job well done.
New In-person Meeting Signs!
Many thanks to PFLAG SDC Dad Ian Robson of Creative Juices Signage for creating new sign inserts to direct families to our in-person support group meetings. We are grateful for the talented people who support our mission in whatever capacity they can.
️ PFLAG SDC Elections
The PFLAG SDC election is underway. All PFLAG SDC members should have received a ballot via email to vote for the 2024-2025 officers. Please vote by January 10. If you did not receive a ballot, please email admin@pflagsdc.org.
USD School Of Law Name And Gender Marker 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 upcoming clinic date is January 16, and there are a few appointments available at 7:30 pm. Email: transclinic.sandiego@gmail.com to schedule an appointment or for more information.
Sashay, You Play
The San Diego LGBT Community Center is inviting you as it launches a free game night of board games and cards set for January 18 from 5:30-7:20 pm. All are welcome to this social space for our LGBTQ+ community. Games, pizza, and soft drinks will be provided.
For more information: jsanchez@thecentersd.org.
RSVP: bit.ly/sashay-you-play
Young Professionals Council Academy
Applications for The San Diego LGBT Center’s 2024 Young Professionals Council (YPC) Academy are now open! Applications must be submitted by Sunday, January 21 at 8 pm.
YPC is a community of LGBTQ+ leaders and allies ages 21-40ish that offers opportunities for connection, career development, friendship, and power-building. During the six-session academy, participants hear from elected officials, social justice and community leaders, and other local experts who help them expand their fundraising, communications, and movement-building capabilities. Approximately 20 participants are selected each year to participate in the program. Learn more and apply at: Apply for the 2024 YPC Class
NC LGBTQ Center Annual Town Hall
The North County LGBTQ Resource Center will be hosting its annual Town Hall on January 26 at 6:00 pm at the Oceanside Public Library, 330 North Coast Highway, Oceanside. You can submit questions in advance to operations@northcountycenter.org. Dinner will be provided.
️ PFLAG SDC Book Club
The next selection for the PFLAG SDC Book Club will be the young adult memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue, by journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson. We’ll meet Tuesday, January 30, 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.
All Boys Aren’t Blue explores the author’s childhood, adolescence, and college years as a queer Black boy growing up in New Jersey and Virginia. It covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. It’s also been one of the most-challenged books in school libraries for the past several years. Let’s read it together and make up our own minds!
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.fm.
Tiger’s Pictionary Benefit Fundraiser For PFLAG SDC
Please join us Tuesday, February 6, 7:30-10:30 pm, for Tiger’s Pictionary at Number One Fifth Avenue, 3845 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, for a FUNraiser hosted by Sister Ida Know.
Tiger’s Pictionary is a fun Pictionary game with a few twists and is hosted every Tuesday night. Players may purchase raffle tickets that give you a chance to win prizes donated by local businesses and organizations that are raffled off by Sister Ida Know every 15 minutes. Part of the fun is that there are no teams, and when someone correctly guesses a clue, they also receive a free ticket for the raffle. The funds raised go to support a different nonprofit in the San Diego LGBTQ+ community every week. Over the past 12 years, Tiger’s Pictionary has raised over $100,000, and February 6 is PFLAG San Diego County’s night!
Please donate a prize for the raffle and/or come down to play Tiger’s Pictionary with us. Suggestions for raffle prizes include gift certificates for restaurants, hair salons, movies, as well as board games or other fun Pride prizes. For questions, please contact admin@pflagsdc.org. We hope to see you there!
Time To Apply For PFLAG SDC Scholarships
Once again (our 26th year!), PFLAG San Diego County is offering scholarships to LGBTQ+ students who reside in San Diego County. The application, requirements, and other scholarship-related info can be found on our web site at https://pflagsdc.org/scholarships. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2024.
Help us spread the word to LGBTQ+ high school seniors and full-time undergraduate/graduate students to apply for PFLAG SDC scholarships. In addition, we are offering scholarships specifically for community colleges and certified technical/vocational schools. Half-time applicants will be considered with an explanation of the circumstances that prevents them from attending full-time. A minimum of 18 scholarships will be awarded in the range of $2000-3500.
Our goal is to maximize the amounts of scholarships and to award more scholarships this year. You may donate any time: pflagsdc.org/support-our-students/ either to the General Scholarship Fund or a specific scholarship. We maintain our commitment that 100% of funds donated for scholarships goes to students. We also offer a recurring monthly donation option. All donations are 100% tax deductible (tax ID# 33-0512868).
Our motto is “Change a life, change the world.” In 2023, we awarded a record 21 scholarships, totaling $56,000. Please help us continue to change lives.
For questions, please contact scholarships@pflagsdc.org.
PFLAG SDC Holiday Happenings
On December 3, the Board of Directors, Facilitators, family members, and friends gathered at Baja Betty’s to celebrate the holidays. It was fun catching up in a social setting. We all wish our members a happy, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous 2024.
December 9: Come Home for the Holidays – Kudos to the LGBT Community Center for another successful holiday party. PFLAG SDC Board Members Terrie Vorono and Belinda Long tabled, with many folx stopping by.
December 14: San Diego Pride Holiday Mixer — PFLAGers Ina Price, Sherry Cohen-Richards, Floyd Henson, and Elizabeth Santillanez enjoyed mingling with other LGBT+ community members. On stage are interim SD Pride co-Executive Directors Jen LaBarbera and Sarafina Scapicchio.
December 17: PFLAG SDC members came in force to support PFLAG SDC facilitator Emily Okerlund performing with the San Diego Women’s Chorus. The partial fan club: L to R: Annette Ottone, Remo Ottone, Elizabeth Santillanez, Bill Luna, Nancy Colbert, Vicki Luna, Terrie Vorono. Not pictured are James Colbert, Lonnie Brunini, Louie Chavez, Belinda Long, and Sherry Cohen-Richards. What a talented group of women and a wonderful concert (Winter Lights). Emily is in the third row down from the top on the right. Kudos. We celebrated the end of the day by having a lovely dinner.
Speaking Up For LGBTQ+ Students In Lakeside
In December, PFLAG SDC members spoke in opposition to a proposed Parent Bill of Rights at the Lakeside Union School Board Meeting. Part of the bill would include the outing of LGBTQ+ students, book bans, and other anti-LGBTQ+ measures. In attendance were Ryn Corbeil, Christynne Wood, David Milroy, and Eddie Estrada.
Shout-out From PFLAG National
We were recognized by PFLAG National in its monthly Leadership Learnings newsletter. PFLAG National highlighted the longevity of the Scholarship Program (26 years) and the 200 scholarships totaling over $480,000 awarded since the program’s inception in 1998, when it started with two scholarships.
Don’t Miss Out On A PFLAG T-shirt!
Order your PFLAG SDC t-shirt now. They are $10, and there are a limited quantity. To reserve a PFLAG SDC t-shirt, please email your name and size to admin@pflagsdc.org.
Thank You To Our Donors!
Thanks to the following individuals who donated to the PFLAG SDC General and Scholarship Funds this past month:
Donna and Jim Bowersox
Therese Burke
Paul Cooley
Gail Doore
Aaron Gitnick
Jennifer Greenwood
Bobbi Harwood
Bill Hanson
Louise Julig
Charles Chan Massey
Todd and Michelle Raby
Alana Robinson
Eva Stjernfeldt and Alec Babiaraz
Don Ward
Annemarie Whalen
Bryan Wildenthal
James Ziegler
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!
Donna and Jim Bowersox
Lonnie Brunini
B Fit by Bryann
Nancy Colbert
Anna Covici
Charles Kaminski
Jesse Muñoz
Stephen Miller and Michael Wasilewski
Maureen Steiner
Terrie Vorono
☎️ 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.
Support Groups
❗️Note: some support group information has changed since last month
Most support groups will continue to meet virtually, but some groups are returning to in-person meetings. 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.
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+.
