Support

It's Back-to-School Time! 

It's that time of year, when kids of all ages head back to school. Whether learning in person or online, LGBTQ+ kids need support to ensure they have what they need to thrive. Here are some helpful resources!

• Cultivating Respect: Safe Schools for All is a publication from PFLAG National that offers ways to make schools safer for all students, including LGBTQ+ students. This guide is available in both English and Spanish, and can be downloaded for free or purchased from our store.
• We have a new PFLAG Academy Online learning session--Working with School Personnel for Safer Schools--coming up this month on August 24th at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT. We also have two PFLAG Academy Online on-demand sessions on making schools safer: "Cultivating Respect: Safe Schools for ALL Children," a 101-level session which offers safe-school basics; and "Cultivating Respect: Working with Stakeholders for Safer Schools," a 201-level session for next-level learning. Sign up for this month's live session, and access our on-demand sessions, any time!
• SafeSchoolsForAll.org provides all of the information and resources you need should you need to file a claim of school-based harassment or discrimination. Created through a partnership with PFLAG National, GLSEN, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and National Center for Lesbian Rights, SafeSchoolsForAll.org offers resources for students, parents, teachers, and administrators.  
• Q Chat Space, a program of PFLAG National, Planned Parenthood, and CenterLink, provides online discussion groups for LGBTQ+ and questioning teens ages 13 to 19. It is not a forum. It is live and chat based; there is no video or audio. Everyone is chatting during the same pre-scheduled time.

  Conversations are facilitated by experienced staff who work at LGBTQ+ centers around the United States. (Please note: Q Chat Space facilitators are NOT mental health professionals. If you are in crisis or need help immediately, please use the resources available at pflag.org/hotlines.)

Education

Three Steps to Being an Ally to LGBTQ+ Seniors

August 21st is World Senior Citizens Day. Here are some ways to support and serve as an ally to LGBTQ+ seniors.

1. Learn: Take a look at the Movement Advancement Project’s research about LGBTQ+ elders to learn more about the issues they face. Learn about organizations that are focused on serving LGBTQ+ seniors, including SAGE and the Diverse Elders Coalition. SAGE has additional resources at the National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging.
2. Watch: This week’s episode of Something to Talk About Live (see below), which will talk about queer seniors doing advocacy work for LGBTQ+ equality. Also, check out this episode of Something To Talk About Live that talks about the film Senior Prom, which deals with aging while queer. SAGE also has a YouTube channel filled with videos about issues that LGBTQ+ seniors face, including a series on LGBTQ+ inclusive senior housing from 2020.
3. Share: Follow SAGE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Diverse Elders Coalition is also on social media, on Facebook and Twitter.

Advocacy

We Must Keep the Pressure On: Tell your Senators to Vote for the Respect for Marriage Act!

Keep Calling Your Senators! The opposition is vigorously outpacing our phone calls, so this is a critical moment. As the Senate works its way down the list of needed actions, we need to keep up the drumbeat for their support of the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA).

Contact your two Senators and either urge them to support the RMA if they haven't yet said they will, or thank them for their support. 

Something to Talk About...Live!

August 21 Is National Senior Citizens Day

LGBTQ+ elders are fierce advocates and pioneers that fought for many of the rights and protections that exist today. They also express fears about accessing culturally competent healthcare care, social isolation, and being forced to “re-closet” themselves when they move into a senior care facility. 

Join us this Thursday, August 18 at 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT for Something to Talk About Live, where we will be discussing "Recent executive order champions rights of LGBTQ seniors in care communities", which appeared in Seniors Matter by Melanie Kalmar. We're excited to welcome Aaron Tax and Sherrill Wayland, from SAGE: Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders to the conversation! 

You can join this discussion live! Mark your calendar for Something to Talk About Live on Thursday, August 18 at 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

To learn more--and to check out our discussion questions in advance--visit pflagnation.al/STTALive-081822.