Kathy OCraven
Toronto Pflag's Response to the Vatican's ...

Toronto Pflag’s mission is clear: Keeping families together by promoting the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and families through support, education, community, and advocacy.

We promote the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ people by advocating for gender-affirming care, including timely, equitable access to that care for the entire community. This aligns with guidance from all major medical organizations, such as the Canadian Paediatric Society.

We are unequivocal in affirming our transgender community in all of the glorious, joyful, and diverse identities and expressions they bring to our lives.

We staunchly support and stand with our community’s families, regardless of their make-up or where they are in this journey.

We do not agree with the Vatican’s statements, which directly contradict Toronto Pflag’s mission and values.

To our transgender friends, families, and loved ones: We see you, we love you, and we will not stop fighting for you.

Toronto Pflag's Response to the Vatican's statement on gender affirming care
Kathy OCraven
Pride 2023 is here!

Happy Pride Month from all our Toronto Pflag families and volunteers!

With June suddenly arriving, Pride is less than 20 days away!  Over the past months we have seen a deliberate increase in anti-trans and anti-queer sentiments, from flag raisings at schools, to drag events at libraries, to a rise in anti-trans bills and policies across the US, or more locally this past week in New Brunswick. You can tell that Pride 2023 is going to be loud and proud with our Pflag families and volunteers readying our rainbows and preparing to share rainbow love, far and wide throughout the entire month of June.  

Want to participate with Toronto Pflag at Pride? Let us

Pride 2023 is here!
Kathy O'Connell
February is Black History Month – Feb. 1st - ...

Throughout February, Black History Month is a great time to celebrate and reflect on the ways Black artists, icons, and historical figures have contributed to art, culture and history.

Our sister-chapter, Pflag Durham Region, runs an incredible campaign throughout Black History Month which we encourage everyone one to check out - celebrating and honoring amazing Black Queer individuals and taking time to recognize their contributions and accomplishments.  Last year featured innovators and leaders like Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and James Baldwin, and we can’t wait to learn more.    You can follow along with …

February is Black History Month – Feb. 1st - Feb. 28th  
Kathy O'Connell
Holocaust Remembrance Day

Many Canadians, including those with Jewish ancestry or connections, observe the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th.  It commemorates the lives and heroism of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945. While the majority of the Holocaust victims were Jews,  many minority groups were targeted as well.

The Nazis persecuted those they considered to be racially inferior. While Nazis viewed Jews as racial enemies and subjected them to arbitrary arrest, internment, and murder, their racial ideology also targeted the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah's Witnesses and

Holocaust Remembrance Day
Kathy O'Connell
Pride is live for 2022!

After two years of Pride over Zoom, in 2022 we are returning to In-Person events this year, and it's a great time to remember why Pride continues to matter, and why it’s important to gather each year. Not only is Pride a colourful celebration of diverse sexualities and genders, it's also a festival that promotes self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility for LGBTQ2S+ individuals to live Out and Proud, as their authentic selves.

Pride is live for 2022!

Toronto Pflag's Response to the Vatican's statement on gender affirming care

Toronto Pflag's Response to the Vatican's statement on gender affirming care

Toronto Pflag’s mission is clear: Keeping families together by promoting the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and families through support, education, community, and advocacy.

We promote the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ people by advocating for gender-affirming care, including timely, equitable access to that care for the entire community. This aligns with guidance from all major medical organizations, such as the Canadian Paediatric Society.

We are unequivocal in affirming our transgender community in all of the glorious, joyful, and diverse identities and expressions they bring to our lives.

We staunchly support and stand with our community’s families, regardless of their make-up or where they are in this journey.

We do not agree with the Vatican’s statements, which directly contradict Toronto Pflag’s mission and values.

To our transgender friends, families, and loved ones: We see you, we love you, and we will not stop fighting for you.

Pride 2023 is here!

Pride 2023 is here!

Happy Pride Month from all our Toronto Pflag families and volunteers!

With June suddenly arriving, Pride is less than 20 days away!  Over the past months we have seen a deliberate increase in anti-trans and anti-queer sentiments, from flag raisings at schools, to drag events at libraries, to a rise in anti-trans bills and policies across the US, or more locally this past week in New Brunswick. You can tell that Pride 2023 is going to be loud and proud with our Pflag families and volunteers readying our rainbows and preparing to share rainbow love, far and wide throughout the entire month of June.  

Want to participate with Toronto Pflag at Pride? Let us

February is Black History Month – Feb. 1st - Feb. 28th  

February is Black History Month – Feb. 1st - Feb. 28th  

Throughout February, Black History Month is a great time to celebrate and reflect on the ways Black artists, icons, and historical figures have contributed to art, culture and history.

Our sister-chapter, Pflag Durham Region, runs an incredible campaign throughout Black History Month which we encourage everyone one to check out - celebrating and honoring amazing Black Queer individuals and taking time to recognize their contributions and accomplishments.  Last year featured innovators and leaders like Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and James Baldwin, and we can’t wait to learn more.    You can follow along with …

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Many Canadians, including those with Jewish ancestry or connections, observe the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th.  It commemorates the lives and heroism of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945. While the majority of the Holocaust victims were Jews,  many minority groups were targeted as well.

The Nazis persecuted those they considered to be racially inferior. While Nazis viewed Jews as racial enemies and subjected them to arbitrary arrest, internment, and murder, their racial ideology also targeted the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah's Witnesses and

Pride is live for 2022!

Pride is live for 2022!

After two years of Pride over Zoom, in 2022 we are returning to In-Person events this year, and it's a great time to remember why Pride continues to matter, and why it’s important to gather each year. Not only is Pride a colourful celebration of diverse sexualities and genders, it's also a festival that promotes self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility for LGBTQ2S+ individuals to live Out and Proud, as their authentic selves.

February is Black History Month

February is a great time to celebrate and reflect on the ways that Black Canadians have contributed to Canada’s history and culture.

When did it start? - The history of Black History Month dates back to 1926 in the United States. At that time, an African-American historian named Carter G. Woodson founded a week that focused on celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans. He decided on a week in February because two important leaders were born in that month. The first was Frederick Douglass, a former slave and antislavery activist in the 1800s who spoke out for the freedom of slaves, as well as equal rights for women

Building Resilience

For those of us in Ontario, some would say we are navigating oddly familiar times: rise in case counts, school lockdowns, retail capacity limits. However, other people would say that while there are similarities to previous waves, there are huge differences worth mentioning. Namely that vaccinations are available (please get your booster if you have not already) and the world better understands the virus.

Regardless of which side of the conversation you sit on, we can agree that the current situation is less than ideal and its impacts on mental health cannot be discounted. Looking back, our community has a history of overcoming adversity and has built the capacity to recover from difficult situations, also known as resilience.

Building resilience is not impossible and there is research on how each of us as individuals can become more resilient in the face of hardship. One such strategy as developed by psychologist Martin Seligman is reminding ourselves of 3 Ps that may stunt recovery:

No One Is Laughing

Dave Chappelle has always been a controversial comedian. His recent comedy special, The Closer, is no different. The special, released on October 5th, contains hateful comments which cannot be tolerated. These comments question the science behind gender and amplify overtly transphobic views on identity. For example, in one segment, he defends JK Rowling for her past hateful comments and calls himself team TERF.

With Trans Day of Remembrance being November 20th, I am reminded of the individuals lost in acts of anti-transgender violence

National Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day

October 11th is National Coming Out Day. What started out as a march for queer rights over 30 years ago is now a celebration of the LGBTQ2S+ community and a stand against discrimination in the form of sharing one's truth.

It's an important day for already out LGBTQ2S+ individuals as it provides an opportunity to reflect on their own individual journey. It provides an opportunity to reflect on one's personal growth and the support that was provided by

Toronto Trans Coalition Project

The Toronto Trans Coalition Project is a partnership of trans advocacy/support groups in Toronto, focused on improving access for the GTA trans and nonbinary community to the Social Determinants of Health (housing, employment, healthcare, community,..). Our current focus is employment.

During the coming months, we will be conducting a GTA-wide survey on employment barriers within the Two-Spirit, trans and nonbinary community to get a deeper understanding of the experiences that Two-Spirit, trans and nonbinary people have had during their employment and during employment searches. This research was made possible by Women and Gender Equality Canada.

We're looking to get input from the following categories of people:

  • Self identify as a Two-Spirit, trans and/or nonbinary person between the ages of 13-17

  • Self-identify as a Two-Spirit, trans and/or nonbinary person who is 18+

  • Are 18+ and have youth in your family under your care who are Two-Spirit, trans and/or nonbinary (13-17)

  • Are an employer (any gender identity)

All responses will remain strictly anonymous. We will not be able to trace individual responses back to you.

There are many parents/caregivers of trans youth, trans youth and trans adults in the TorontoPflagfamily. Please give us the value of your experiences.

The deadline to complete this survey isAugust 31st, 2021and the final report with findings will be released December 2021 which we will be sharing publicly. Along with an analysis of the responses and answers that we receive from all of you, we will be providing suggestions for next steps that can be helpful to both employees and employers. The survey can be found at:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TTCPEBS.

We need you!

Hello everyone!

Hoping you read this on a patio with a cool drink and good friend.

We need your help.

We have two main focuses at Toronto Pflag: support and education.

On the support front, we offer 4 monthly meetings (3 evenings and one at noon) and answer the peer support line from 9 am to 9 pm each day. The peer support line is not hectic but we are pleased when we can help and we help hundreds.

Education is also a huge effort. We offer free workshops to grades 1 to 12 and corporate workshops for a fee. From September to the end of July we saw 4,519 students and did 38 business workshops.

A smallish crew of volunteers do all of this.

The peer support line and school and business workshops happen during the day. Are you someone with a story to tell, a confident speaker and do you have time during the day? If you are interested, please sign up here.

We are especially eager to diversify our ranks and our stories.

Anne

Trans Day of Visibility

On March 31st, we celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility. Please take time this month to read up on Trans people and the barriers they routinely face. The Human Rights Council has an article on the trans community and the barriers they face.Read Here.

And here are a few ways to be a Trans Ally:

  • Use the names and pronouns that they ask you to use.

  • Ask your employer to make sure some bathrooms are all gender.

  • Avoid using gendered language and use phrases and terms that are inclusive – instead of “Hello ladies and gentlemen” say “Hello everyone” for example.

  • Help a trans person.

  • Hire a trans person.

If you are the parent of a trans child and need support or information we can help. Call or text us at416-406-6378.

Anne

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