Are you the parent of a child of any age who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? Are you interested in getting support, in helping others, in learning more? If so, our parent forum may help.

Parents come to us at all stages of their journey toward acceptance of their sexual minority child or children. After a child "comes out" to us, or when we first guess that our child is not heterosexual, we may face many difficult and intense emotions. Sometimes our heads say that we accept our child no matter what, but our hearts are devastated. We cry and mourn, we feel guilty, we may feel embarrassingly ignorant, we may fear for our child's welfare, and we often feel alone. We wonder how to reconcile our feelings with our religious beliefs. We may wonder whether to share this information with friends and family. Sometimes we want to do whatever we can to make the world a safer place for our child. Members of our group understand all of these feelings, for we have experienced them. We can help!

The Parent Forum of PFLAG Columbia/Howard County meets on the third Monday of each month from 7:30 to 9:00 pm at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center in Columbia. We meet either in the upper conference room (across the hall from the large room where the monthly meetings are) or in one of the downstairs classrooms. If you have any problems finding us, ask the custodian or consult the schedule board in the main lobby. The group is co-facilitated by a social worker and by a long-time PFLAG parent. Attendance is on a drop-in basis, though some parents attend every month. For further information, please contact Jan Santolla at 410-499-8241 or jansantolla@yahoo.com.

If your child has just come out, we recommend visiting the Family Acceptance site for ideas and support.