Last month, members of PFLAG Riverview were presented with a Chapter Award from PFLAG National during the closing ceremonies of We Are the Change: the 2021 PFLAG National Convention. This award recognizes PFLAG Riverview’s contributions to PFLAG’s threefold mission of support, education and advocacy.
“I could not be more honored, excited and proud of my PFLAG Riverview Family’s first year as a chapter,” said Faith Moeller, PFLAG Riverview president and co-founder and mother of two LGBTQ+ youth.
PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents, families and allies. With over 400 chapters and nearly 250,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued and affirmed.
Moeller is especially proud to receive the recognition considering the restrictions placed on the group due to the pandemic.
“We met only once in person to offer in-person support and a safe space for LGBTQ+ people, their families and allies before the world shut down for the pandemic,” she explained. “The following month on April 13, the new plan was to meet on Zoom. That very morning, I received a call from a new member letting me know that her husband had taken his own life during the night. That same evening, she attended our PFLAG Riverview support meeting on Zoom, where we were able to grieve with her and offer her love and support. In some ways, this tragic loss made a group of strangers friends, and today chosen family for many of us.”
Throughout the rest of 2020, the group met every week on Zoom.
“Everyone is welcome no matter where they are at on their journey,” said Moeller. “We have grown to 100 members including LGBTQ+ adults and youth, grandparents, parents and allies—in our very first year, in spite of the pandemic. Presently, we offer both monthly virtual and in-person support at The Regent in Riverview, as well as social and community event opportunities.”
In addition to receiving the award, PFLAG Riverview members joined hundreds of other PFLAGers from across the country during the three-day We Are the Change virtual convention.
“The We Are the Change virtual convention is an opportunity for people who are LGBTQ+ and people who have LGBTQ+ loved ones in their lives, as well as community leaders, PFLAG chapter members and LGBTQ+ allies, to gather, network and learn,” said Moeller.
To learn more about PFLAG, visit pflag.org, or follow them on Twitter @pflag or Instagram @pflag.
