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http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/217420/250/Bad-Girls-Club-casting-call-attracts-Tampas-baddest

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PFLAG Tampa Newsletter
Vol. 2011-10
All the news that fits, we print.
Save the date:
Next meeting – November 2, 2011
Meetings are scheduled for 7pm – 9pm on the first Wednesday of
every month in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Church of
Tampa (UCC), 7308 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33617. It is located
in the Temple Terrace area of Tampa, just off I-75.
Just three months into the rebirth of PFLAG Tampa our group has almost
doubled in size! PFLAG is often the first door entered by the
GLBT community and their families. Being part of a highly-supportive
group can provide an entirely new outlook for a struggling family,
opening up a new world of inclusiveness and care.
Thanks to all who participated in our last meeting. We were especially pleased with our dynamic (and
dare we say lovable?) speaker, Mr. Stephen Koch, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. His
stories about his experiences with his own “Littles” were both heartwarming and heartbreaking. He related
how he took two of his littles to the movies, only to discover that it was a brand new experience
for them. We laughed as he described watching the movie from the front row (he let them choose!).
We all teared up when he told of the 9-year old he mentored who died from AIDS. Stephen could not
have been a better role model, as a leader at BBBS Tampa, a lawyer, and a National Big Brother of
the Year. We’ve had great speakers – all of them living examples of how “It Gets Better.”
Coming up: Our next meeting will be speakerless – we are going to devote the entire meeting to support
and discussions. If you have an issue you would like to talk about, no matter how big or trivial,
please feel free to speak up. The chances are good that someone else in the room is quietly wrestling
with the same issue. Or you might have just the answer that someone else is looking for.
We were disappointed that Orlando Gay Pride was canceled due to inclement weather, but delighted
that we will have a second chance! The day has been rescheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13. It’s a full day
of festival, parade and fireworks. Plus, you get to march with PFLAG in Orlando’s Gay Pride Parade –
something to write home about, or tell your grandchildren someday!
PFLAG Tampa will be co-sponsoring two free events with ACLU Florida: on
Nov. 3, a documentary screening of “In Anita’s Wake: The Irrational War on
Florida Families,” 7:30pm at The Roosevelt 2.0 in Ybor, and then, on Nov. 5,
a GLAAD education/speaker training seminar at the MCC Tampa church
from 1-3pm on sustaining the victory over the adoption ban.
This past month: PFLAG Tampa again joined the LGBTQ roundtable of The Spring of Tampa Bay. We
saw a Domestic Violence 101 presentation, and discussed LGBT concerns with Tampa police. PFLAG
Tampa has already tapped into The Spring’s safety planning a couple of times. They do not discriminate
(yay!), so if you have domestic violence issues, either gay or straight, call 24/7 SAFE (813-247-
7233).
As our way of supporting and thanking The Spring, 20 PFLAG Tampa members and
friends attended their uproarious fundraiser – Drag Queen Bingo at Hamburger
Mary’s in Ybor. What a hoot! Leave your sense of good taste at home, but be ready
to laugh hysterically, and be pelted with wadded up losing Bingo sheets if you win.
Need we say more? Yes, we’ll say one more thing – Would we be up for hosting our
own fundraiser at Hamburger Mary’s?
Reps from PFLAG Tampa attended the GLSEN Tampa
(Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) meeting at the
Metro Wellness Center in Ybor. We asked about some
specific school problems that have come up for PFLAG Tampa, and they could not
have been more helpful. We plan to work together with them for World Aids Day.
While we were there, We found out about a great group that meets at the Metro Center on Tuesdays
from 5:30-7:00pm, for LGBTQA youth and their allies, ages 14-18. It sounds like the meetings are
loads of fun with conversation, dinner and games, field trips (they went to the Rays game in association
with the It Gets Better campaign), and “other cool, free stuff!” We wanted to be young again so
we could be part of this group! We were thrilled to find a place to recommend for LGBTQ youth. If
that’s you, we highly recommend you give this group a try! (813) 232-3808.
Additionally, FYI, Metro Center also offers five FREE therapy sessions to LGBT youth (ages 13-22)
who are being harassed, bullied or teased. We asked specifically, and found out that this includes not
just peers, but harassing adults or family members as well. Pick up info at our brochure table.
We also attended the GaYBOR District Meeting. It was suggested by
the president that PFLAG parents might enjoy a tour of the nightspots of
Ybor to better understand the culture and entertainment of the LGBT
community (and perhaps to dispel some misconceptions). We’re interested
– anyone else? We met Merrell Dickey, the Director of Library Development
at USF, who gave a talk about their new LGBT Special Collection.
They are looking for LGBT-related archival materials for the library including oral histories and
the like. They aspire to be a center for authoritative research in Florida’s LGBT history.
Rounding out the month were a visit to the GLBT Democratic Caucus, Coming Out with Pride Day at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Clearwater, and an all-day LGBT seminar and candlelight vigil at USF
with speaker The Honorable Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County Commissioner. He spoke about his
experience as a gay man in public office in our county.
New in our library: Call Me Malcolm – DVD – Miriam, now known as Malcolm, transforms
from female to male while in seminary school. He journeys across the US to
visit people from his past and other transgender people, trying to gain a better understanding
of his new identity. The documentary examines the struggles faced
when transgender people try to become the people they have always been inside,
while remaining true to the core values of their religious beliefs.
LGBT Support in the News: Janice Langbehn
was blocked by hospital officials in
Miami from seeing her dying partner, Lisa
Pond. Three of their four adopted children
were blocked as well. Lisa died without them by her side.
Langbehn challenged the hospital’s policy, but a federal
court ruled against her in 2009. President Obama was
moved to sign a directive ordering the Dept. of Health & Human
Services to establish new rules preventing hospitals
from denying visitation rights to partners of gay men and
lesbians. For her efforts, Langbehn was awarded the Presidential
Citizens Medal on Oct. 20. Well deserved!
Find us on FaceBook; “like” us to get updates:
http://www.facebook.com/PFLAGTampa
http://pflagtampa.org

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—
Moira Souza Shiver