As a result of the Coronavirus Stay At Home Order, we will now be holding virtual PFLAG meetings supported by an easy-to-use online meeting tool called Zoom. CLICK HERE to get set-up with Zoom.
Join us for our regular monthly meeting welcoming the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community, friends, families and allies for support and education. Our regular support group will follow the education portion.
Please RSVP to info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org
EDUCATION PORTION:
Why We Need GSAs!
Presented by David Crowley
Gay-straight alliances are student-run organizations that provide a space for LGBTQ students and their straight allies to come together. Gay-straight alliances often aim to promote a supportive school climate for students of all sexual orientations and gender expressions, to decrease bullying, and to provide students with a space to be themselves. Overall, findings show that youth in schools with GSAs are less likely to feel unsafe, hear homophobic remarks, or experience homophobic victimization; they also report better academic and mental health outcomes and lower illicit drug use and prescription misuse compared to youth in schools without GSAs. Furthermore, GSAs in schools have been found to mitigate the association between gay-bias victimization and suicidality. GSAs make schools better.
About our Presenter:
David Crowley has been teaching at San Pedro High School for 20 years and is the founder of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance making it the oldest LGBTQ organization in San Pedro and most of the South Bay. Previous to teaching, Crowley was a high powered entertainment publicist for artists including Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses, Van Halen, Nirvana and many more. He is the father of Caden, a 17 year old senior and likes to take his son on adventures around the world.
A NOTE ABOUT VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
We will be utilizing Zoom features that provide the highest level of safety and confidentiality possible. Zoom is free to you and you need not have an account to join us. If you are new to Zoom, you can follow the links [here] for brief tutorials on all you need to know to sign on to a Zoom meeting with us. We ask that each of you that would like to participate in the on-line support, contact us in advance by email at info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org to RSVP for the meeting. We will cut off RSVPs at 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting. All participants will receive a follow-up email with the link to the Zoom call and a password. For confidentiality’s sake, please do not forward these to another participant — they are welcome to contact us directly to receive the link.
We recognize that youth may be interested in the educational part of this meeting and they are welcome to join us. As usual, we ask that youth who may want to stick around for our support groups be joined by a parent. Some heavy emotions can emerge in the course of our sessions and having a parent on-hand helps to ensure that the needs of any youth on the call are met.
There are some benefits to utilizing new tools like Zoom. We recognize that our typical evening support group meetings are not feasible for everyone due to work, family or other demands. If there is a need, we would like to offer an additional support group Zoom conference call sometime during the daytime hours. If you are interested in a daytime support group, email us at info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org and let us know what times might be more workable for you.
If you need more personalized assistance and support, we remain here for you. Email us confidentially and we will work with you to identify the best member of our team to assist with your individual needs.