Parents, caregivers, family members, as well as trans and non-binary people are invited to join us next Tuesday when we host an online workshop on Name & Gender Marker Changes with attorney Charlie Arrowood.

Register now for the online Zoom meeting on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The name and gender marker change process can be overwhelming even if you are familiar with the courts. This workshop will provide attendees with information about the current name and document change process, as well as the upcoming changes that will go into effect when the Gender Recognition Act is implemented in December 2021 and June 2022. Read more »

Our Executive Director, Drew Tagliabue, and our Board of Directors would like to share the following joint messages with the PFLAG NYC community…
 

Dear Friends & Supporters of PFLAG NYC,

I am writing to share some news with the entire PFLAG NYC community. I recently informed the Board of Directors and my colleagues of my intention to step down as Executive Director at the end of the year. I did not reach this decision lightly, as I am extremely proud of the impact that this amazing organization has in the lives of LGBTQ+ people and their families. Since 2007 I have started every day excited to get to work, and it has been an honor to work with the inspiring community of PFLAG NYC families, volunteers, colleagues, donors, funders, and partners. Read more »

Our PFLAG NYC community has risen to the challenge of the past year in such remarkable ways, and you have helped us keep helping LGBTQ+ youth, their families, schools and everyone who aspires to help them find welcome and affirmation. As we come into the final month of the year, we ask you to help once more with a year-end donation.

Social distancing and life lived remotely have brought particular challenges and heightened the risks that LGBTQ+ young people face. Everyone is navigating new pressures, but for young people who are grappling with identity the pressures can be unbearable. Home and family may not be a supportive environment. Going to school is a daily refuge that no longer exists. In an all-digital world, isolation, bullying, and fear of the future can be even more inescapable. On the flip side, parents and families can feel especially lost when a child comes out and they don’t know how to cope.

Faced with new needs, this year PFLAG NYC reworked every one of our programs to serve the needs of our new reality. The result is that we are better, stronger, and more capable for all that the future may bring. Read more »

PFLAG NYC’s Safe Schools Program continues engaging students even online

The Safe Schools Program brings community speakers to classrooms throughout New York City to share their personal experience of LGBTQ loved ones in their lives, or being an LGBTQ person themselves. Even remotely, students need to hear your story!

Before the pandemic, PFLAG NYC had brought the Safe Schools Program into schools in every part of New York City. Now online, we have the chance to be in every single school! Since March, when schools moved online, we have brought all our programs with students and educators into virtual schools.

Volunteer with the Safe Schools Program!

Community speakers make the Safe Schools Program powerful, because it is unlike any other experience students have. Ordinary people from the community — parents, other relatives, and LGBT people themselves — share their own stories of having an LGBTQ loved one, or of being LGBT themselves. These personal stories make the Safe Schools Program uniquely powerful in reaching students. As one educator told us, “The event was absolutely fabulous! Students commented that you never hear parents’ reactions and family stories. It was a new perspective for them. It was a really great program and led to great conversations!”

In the 2020-21 school year even as students return to school part-time, we will continue to be in virtual classrooms. We always need more volunteers to be speakers in the program and share their story with school communities, and now you can do it without leaving home! Whether you are the parent of an LGBTQ person, someone with an LGBTQ loved one, or an LGBTQ person yourself, your story can help others learn what it means to be LGBTQ and help change the climate in schools for young people growing up, LGBTQ or not. You may not think your story is remarkable, but the most seemingly ordinary stories told honestly and proudly can spark revelations and change behavior.

Training Workshops for New and Current Speakers

For new volunteers, join us on October 10 for our next New Speaker Orientation Training. Learn how sharing your personal story can open dialogue, inspire students, and help schools make sure they are safe and affirming for LBGTQ students. Your story could save a life. Read more »