Pflag Halton
Parents across the town are stepping up efforts to show support and love during Pride Month. The local momentum increased, especially after the anti-Pride protests led to a high absenteeism rate in some Oakville schools, leaving many shocked and saddened in the town.
Sarah Forrest, a mom of two children at Dr. David R. Williams Public School in Oakville, ordered a yard sign from Pflag Halton and bought a giant Pride flag online. She will tie-dye a custom shirt for a 12-foot giant skeleton that she has. "I want people to know that my house is a safe place. Maybe it will make some people stop and think. Maybe it will let some people who aren't open about things know they have support," she hopes.
About last week's protest at schools, Forrest wondered if "we are going backwards" and "wished there wasn't so much pushing for hate." She recollected being "literally forced into the office to not corrupt my classmates when I came out as bisexual in grade 7. They also didn't allow me at grade 8 grad and didn't post my picture on the wall."
Forrest shared that her children's close friend group was absent on June 1. The email from her children's school also confirmed "a higher than normal absence rate," highlighting that the school "became aware that there was a call for parents/guardians to keep their children home from school (Thursday) in protest of Pride Month."
Her social media post last week triggered pent-up conversions from other parents, many of whom confirmed similar absences at their children's schools and felt heartbroken. "I'm thinking of the closeted LGBTQ children or even their families who might not know now which is a safe place to go to," a parent shared on condition of anonymity. She also suggested having dinner-table conversations with children to build empathy and holding a rally in Oakville to show solidarity with the celebration of Pride at the schools.
Last week, Pflag Halton saw a huge uptake in lawn signs and requests for tickets to the Pride Fest in Milton's Country Heritage Park on June 24. In light of the rising escalation of hate and discrimination against the trans and queer communities within Halton and beyond, the agency introduced lawn signs this year, which can be "a visible marker for those individuals who need to feel welcomed and important opportunity for allies to express their support."
Oakville-based Wry and Ginger Studio designed the lawn sign. The Halton-based local regional chapter of Pflag Canada focuses on providing peer support, education and advocacy for LGBTQ+ individuals, families, and their loved ones.
"If you're a parent of a queer trans child, and you get that message from that school, you immediately think and worry about your child's safety within those spaces. But then we're also empowered because, for us, it just means, we have to continue to advocate," Whitney, one of the co-leads at Pflag Halton, wondered about the absence of students last week.
Kristie Brassard, a registered social worker and psychotherapist, expressed her concern over the resistance and hate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has been experiencing this past year, including the absenteeism during Halton's pride flag raising.
"Kids are being raised in our society to be heterosexual and cis-gendered until proven otherwise. For kids on the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum and beyond, this can be damaging as they are taught from a young age that they are strange, different, or bad for being their authentic selves," she worried.
Though equally disappointed with the absenteeism when the Pride month began, Halton Parents for Change is thrilled to notice the increase in Pride programs and inclusivity, including events at Conservation Halton and the upcoming first-ever Halton Pride Fest.
"Giving airtime and publicity to those who oppose inclusion and acceptance isn't productive. Love is love, and love wins," a representative of the organization shared.
