Friend, how much do you love PFLAG San Diego County? If you’ve attended a support group, seen our booth at one of the many, many festivals and Pride activities throughout the year, attended an event from this newsletter, learned what’s going on in other parts of the county, read a movie review or participated in our book club, applied for a scholarship, or informed a loved one or friend about our scholarships or any of the resources we provide, you have benefitted from some of the many services of PFLAG San Diego County.
That’s not even counting things behind the scenes, like when PFLAG SDC leaders presented a session on Creating District-Wide Systems of Support for LGBTQIA+ Families, Students, and Staff to the Association of California School Administrators, to help ensure all students in California have safe, affirming spaces at their schools. Or when PFLAG SDC leaders and members advocate for the community, as we did this month at the San Dieguito Union High School District Board meeting (see article below).
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.
Photo by Robin Ooode on Unsplash
Each year, 31 LGBTQ+ Icons, living or dead, are selected for achievements in their field of endeavor, for their status as a national hero, or for their significant contribution to LGBTQ+ civil rights. Watch the video for an overview of all 31 of this year’s icons. Go to https://lgbthistorymonth.com/ for more info and to search the archive of 496 past LGBTQ+ icons.
🏖 Trans Beach Day
Sponsored by the Transgender Health and Wellness Center, the San Diego Trans and Non-Binary Community Beach Day is Saturday, October 1. The event is at Crown Point Drive in Pacific Peach from 10am-10pm. There will be a bonfire at sundown!
This is a cultivated safe space for the gender diverse and non-conforming community. Food and drinks to be shared potluck and community style; please bring enough for everyone.
Please RSVP: http://evite.me/4ssuVr1yTM. Note that all information provided through Evite will be shared between the TGH&WC and Connor Maddocks for future events.
The Transgender Health and Wellness Center San Diego also extends an open invitation to its Trans and Nonbinary weekly Tuesday evening social. They meet from 6-7:30 pm at Fair@44: 4350 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego. They are partnering with The Boulevard Business Improvement Association in City Heights. This is an intentionally cultivated safe space for the gender diverse and intersex community and would like to center their stories and successes. This event is open to trusted stakeholders, partner(s), chosen family, youth, and kin.
If you would like more information about this recurring event, or would like to become a monthly sponsor, please contact Naya Marie Velazco (she/her), Director of Programs at naya@trans.org.
Images of Pride
Images of Pride is a photography exhibition which reflects the diversity, community, pageantry, excitement, and emotion of the San Diego Pride Festival, Parade, Rally and other 2022 San Diego Pride events. Mark your calendars for October 7th, 6-8pm at San Diego Pride, 3620 30th Street. There will be an artist reception.
North County LGBT Center Gala 🚌
Support the North County LGBT Center 15th Annual Gala on October 8 from 5:00-9:00 pm. The event is outdoors at the El Corazon Senior Center, 3302 Senior Center Drive in Oceanside.
The Center really showed up for our community before and during this pandemic. The weight of this year’s gala is more solemn because we reflect on The Center’s first decade of impact in North County where their services and capacity have increased exponentially.
The North County LGBT Center has been there not only to support youth, seniors, the unhoused, and those that survived violence, abuse and crimes, but to hold space for our community and begin a journey, together, of recovery, healing but also empowerment and advocacy to protect and extend our Civil Rights.
Food and the main stage performances are included in the ticket price. Wine and beer are for purchase. Tickets are $175 (Or you can make a donation of any amount if you can’t attend in person). To purchase: https://www.ncresourcecenter.org/draftsponsors
🏳️🌈 Imperial Valley Pride 🏳️⚧️
You Were Born To Stand Out
Imperial Valley’s 7th Annual Pride is Saturday, October 8. It runs from 5:00-10:00 pm at Stark Field Park on Lenrey & 4th in El Centro. Not only would they love for you to attend, they are requesting more vendors (art, food, clothes, baked goods, etc.). Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Call 760-592-4066 or email Pride@ivlgbtcenter.com for more information.
National Coming Out Day
Whether you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual or any variety of queer, be proud of who you are and your support for LGBTQ+ equality this Coming Out Day, October 11.
Thirty-three years ago, on the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, we first observed National Coming Out Day as a reminder that one of our most basic tools is the power of coming out. Coming out as LGBTQ+ STILL MATTERS. When people know someone who is LGBTQ+, they are far more likely to support equality under the law. Beyond that, our stories can be powerful to each other.
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. Upcoming clinic dates are October 11 and 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.
Drag Queen Story Hour At The Library
The Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Library branch of the San Diego Public Library hosts Drag Queen Story Hour featuring Vance Vega on October 15, 10-11:30 a.m. to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. Drag Queen Story Hour is a family-friendly way of recognizing and celebrating diversity and individuality through age-appropriate stories and songs. Dress in your favorite costume for a special Halloween parade and crafts before the story time! The library branch is located at 215 W. Washington Street.
🛼 Skate The Night Away With GLSEN!
GLSEN San Diego County is inviting all GSA middle and high schools and recent grads to a cost-free evening of rolling skating. It’s October 21 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Derby United, 6060 Federal Blvd., San Diego. In order to attend, you need to complete the registration (bit.ly/reg-roller) and have a parent/guardian complete a waiver form: (bit.ly/rink-reg-waiver).
ACE Week
ACE Week (Formerly Asexuality Awareness Week) is October 23-29. This is an annual campaign to raise awareness, build community, and create change around the world. For more on the history of ACE week go to https://aceweek.org/stories/the-history-of-ace-week.
The PFLAG SDC Book Club also highly recommends reading our recent book selection ACE: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, by Angela Chen. We found it to be a thorough and thought-provoking exploration of this often-misunderstood and underrepresented LGBTQIA+ orientation that forces examination of cultural norms.
👻 The Queerest Halloween Party
Boo Bash – Halloween Party is sponsored by TransFamily Support Services, in partnership with Fabulous Hillcrest and presenting sponsor Rich’s Nightclub. It will take place Saturday, October 29 from 11:00 am-2:00 pm, 1500 University Avenue in Hillcrest. This is a free, family Halloween Party – carnival games, costume parties, trick or treating, and family-friendly drag shows. Don’t miss it! Please RSVP: tinyurl.com/boobash22.
💀 2nd Annual Día De Los Muertos Fundraiser
The LGBTQ+ community is invited to attend this annual fundraiser, sponsored by VIDA Community. It is Monday, October 31 (what a great way to spend Halloween!) from 6:00-9:00 pm at Urban MO’s, 308 University Avenue in Hillcrest. Highlights will include performances by Mariachi Continental de San Diego, some of the best Drag Queens in San Diego, and Día De Los Muertos Painted Face Contest.
For anyone unfamiliar with VIDA, it was formed in 2014 to provide HIV education to help reduce and hopefully eliminate HIV among Latinx youth. The organization knows that being present throughout the community is essential to reach as many members of the Latinx community as possible. VIDA does this in many ways, including informational booths at events all over San Diego including Latinx Pride, National Latina AIDS Awareness Day and providing free take-home HIV tests at these and other events. For more information: https://vida.community.
All the money raised will provide scholarships for next year, more HIV test kits, and outreach to the community. Tickets go on sale shortly – keep you posted on Facebook.
Youth Leadership Academy 🙋
San Diego Pride is hosting the annual Pride Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) on November 12, 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. 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/
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 support 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 go to https://bookshop.org/shop/libelulabooksandco and enter any book title in the search bar. If audiobooks are more your thing, check out the indie-supporting Libro.com.
Alphabet Soup LGBTQ Youth Social Group at Our Safe Place
Our Safe Place is a collaborative program with San Diego Youth Services, South Bay Community Services, and the YMCA of San Diego County. Each organization provides drop-in centers, and San Diego Youth Services also provides a mental health clinic. The North Inland drop-in center is hosted at the YMCA and offers the Alphabet Soup youth social group for ages 10-13 every Thursday at 4 pm. Our Safe Space Drop-In center locations are:
- SDYS Central Drop-in Center: 2220 Broadway, San Diego, Open 7 days a week
- SBSC South Drop-In Center, 746 Ada Street, Chula Vista
- YMCA North Inland Drop-In Center: 1050 N Broadway, Escondido
- YMCA North County Drop-In Center 215 Barnes Street, Oceanside
For more info call 619.525.9903, email Relle Goan at rgoan@ymcasd.org, or go to https://sdyouthservices.org/services/our-safe-place/
PFLAG SDC Supports San Dieguito Union High School Students ✊
On September 14, members of PFLAG SDC and the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, as well as teachers, parents and other community members, attended and spoke in support of LGBTQ Students at the San Dieguito Union High School District board meeting. San Dieguito Academy and La Costa Canyon High School GSA student leaders urged community members to attend and/or write the school board members in support of restorative action in the wake of transphobic comments in a private parent group on Facebook.
The meeting included nearly two hours of public comment, spearheaded by the student leaders who called for a resolution to create procedures to support LGBTQ students and foster a safe environment for them on campus. PFLAG members also wrote emails to the SDUHSD Board and County Office of Education supporting the students and condemning transphobic speech from adults. More coverage of the meeting can be found at the Encinitas Advocate.
Fun and Fundraising!
Those who attended Tiger’s Pictionary on September 20 had a blast, won prizes, and hopefully will go back again! PFLAGers Annette Ottone, Terrie Vorono, Nancy Colbert, Elizabeth Santillanez, Remo Ottone, Sherry Cohen-Richards, and honorary member Sister Ida Know were joined by new friends in the photo above. The PFLAG gang all donated raffle prizes, as well as Bill and Vicki Luna, who could not attend.
For those who missed it, Tiger’s Pictionary is a fun Pictionary game with a few twists and is hosted by Sister Ida Know from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Every Tuesday night from 7:30-10:30 pm the event is at Number One Fifth Avenue, 3845 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest. Players may purchase raffle tickets that give them 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 the word/phrase, they also receive a free ticket for the raffle. The funds raised support a nonprofit organization in the San Diego LGBTQ+ community every week. Over the past 11 years, Tiger’s Pictionary has raised over $100,000. We were grateful to have been chosen as a beneficiary in September on the 20th and again on the 27th.
We Did It! Aids Walk Fundraising A Success
Our PFLAG SDC team raised $2,168 for AIDS Walk San Diego, which entitled us to walk with the prestigious yellow sneaker. The event had been modified the last two years due to the pandemic, but was back in full swing on Saturday, September 24.
Thank you to donors Bill Luna, Vicki Luna, Becki Luna, Melissa Stepek, Adam Luna, Terrie Vorono, Donna Gray-Bowersox, Phyllis Van Wanseele, Don Ward, Annette Ottone, Remo Ottone, Louise Julig, Sherry Cohen-Richards, and two anonymous donors.
Pictured above is our small but mighty walking contingent: Melanie Kilgore, Jimmy Kilgore, Bill Luna, Vicki Luna, Sherry Cohen-Richards.
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
☎️ 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:
Sue Johnson
Charles Kaminski
Jeffrey Olson
Renee O’Malley
Lawrence Stein
Amy Thopson
Joy Wassh
Allis Young
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
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+.
