This year we joined the South Miami chapter of PFLAG. This is an important group. It is a group that supports, advocates, and educates. It is crazy to say that you don’t know someone that is LGBTQ in one way or another. Maybe a family member, or someone you work with, or just a friend. But trust me, you are not the only person in the world that does not have contact with a member of this community. I have family members and many friends and colleagues that are LGBTQ. This group is a great way to learn about the struggles they face and provides ways to help, even if it is just to listen.

We had a speaker, an endocrinologist with Miami Children’s Hospital, this past week who said that 1 out of every 200 people are Transgender. He also said that the suicide rate (even thinking about it) in the Trans community is at least 40%. All anyone has to do is just say, “I support you, I accept you.” and that person hearing it and knowing you mean it will hopefully reconsider.

On a more fun note, April is Pride Month and we had the privilege to march with our PPFLAG group along with the Alliance for GLBTQ Youth in the South Beach Pride Parade. It was rainbows everywhere! It was so much fun. Everyone was happy and smiling and dancing. We made shirts and posters for the event. We walked along Ocean Drive in South Beach from 5th to the end. Then we went over to the beach and checked out the pride village of vendors and other stuff.

After, we went to a restaurant to eat lunch, well, late lunch, early dinner, we had been at the parade site from 9:30 Am until 3:30 PM. We were hungry. When we walked in wearing still our shirts and whistles and stuff, the guy that sat us at our table, asked if we had been at the parade. We said, yes, then he said thank you to us for marching in it, because even though we did not know it we were marching for him and his friends and it meant so much to him. That was really nice to hear.

What was funny was that many of our friends were in the stands and saw us there.