When Christine and Simon Burroughes son David came out last year last year the couple found the news a bit of a shock. Christine called a cousin who is gay for some advice, ‘He was very wise… he told me to get myself some counselling and to call PFLAG.’
PFLAG stands for Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays. A non-profit voluntary organisation whose members have a common goal of keeping families together. PFLAG aims to give help, support and information to families, friends of all gay people.
‘The counselling gave us chance to talk but going and meeting people who had been though it all before’, says Simon ‘It helped meeting other people.’
While they initially attended the meetings to help their family deal with a period of transition, the couple have continued being involved so they can now pass their experiences on to other parents who are discovering their children are same sex attracted.
For David Burroughes his parent’s involvement in the organisation is something that makes him quite proud: ‘I personally thought when they first said they were going to be in it [PFLAG] that they were trying to show a lot of support to me, and not doing it for any other reason, but now it seems they pretty genuinely want to help other people.’
The Perth branch meets fortnightly in Northbridge, and a newly formed Joondalup branch led by Christine meets regularly in the Northern Suburbs. Alongside regular get-togethers the group also offers a telephone counselling service that parents and friends can call for advice and support.
PFLAG is looking for new members to get involved in the organisation whether you’ve just had a family member come out, or are able to share your wisdom and experience with other families. While the group’s name refers gay and lesbian the organisation accepts the entire spectrum of sexual and gender diversity and encourages parent and friends of bi-sexual, transgender and questioning people to also engage with the group.
To find out more about PFLAG look them up online at www.pflagwa.org.au or call their helpline on 08 9228 1005.
OIP Staff
***
