Local Support Groups
For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons
General
Every gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered (GLBT) person knows what it is to be persecuted, rejected and feeling all alone in the world. For this reason GLBTs have formed mutual support groups around the world to help and support each other. The following suggestions are offered by Integrity/Toronto as initial contacts where GLBT persons and their family, friends and pastors might turn for support, help and advice.
Church Groups
Within the Anglican Church of Canada we have the following support agencies:
PFLAG
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is an international organization
of volunteers that promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered persons, their families and friends through support and education. A
list of the over 30 PFLAG chapters in Canada is on their website. We can recommend
these local chapters as a very supportive group of caring people. The national web
site for PFLAG Canada at www.pflag.ca has many support
resources, discussion forums, links to other web sites (which they carefully screen)
as well as an up to date listing of their chapters.
Other Support Resources
While Integrity/Toronto would recommend that your first contact for support and advice should by preference be either a church group or a local PFLAG chapter, this may not be possible in all cases. As we indicated, there are many GLBT support groups in Canada. To the best of our knowledge each of these groups is very protective of the confidentiality of all contacts and very supportive of young people inquiring about their own sexuality. While some caution should be exercised in approaching these other groups, we offer the following suggestions.
- The GayCanada web site (www.gaycanada.com)
now has the most complete listing of GLBT resources in Canada including a listing
of over 200 support groups and 120 youth services across the nation.
- The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth Program provided by the Children's
Aid Society of Toronto web site (www.casmt.on.ca/lgby1a.html)
is an extremely good resource for gay, lesbian or even "wondering" youth and their
families.
- Most university campuses in Canada now have a gay and lesbian support group.
Several have their own web sites such as the one at Memorial University in Newfoundland
(www.mun.ca/lbgt/). These groups
should be able to place you in contact with other GLBT support groups in their
area.
- Many cities have a "gay phone line", some even a "gay youth" number. These phone lines provide a safe, anonymous means of getting immediate help and advice and they should be able to place you in contact with a knowledgeable group or person in your own area.
- In general look for the rainbow sign (indicative of God's gift of diversity throughout creation); the pink triangle (imposed on gays during the nazi holocaust) or the
(Greek letter lambda - no one is sure why, but first used by gay activists in 1970). These symbols usually indicate a GLBT group. While many groups use the title "gay" for simplicity (such as GayCanada above), they usually do offer support to lesbians and other sexual minorities or will know where that support is available locally.
Please Contact Us
Integrity/Toronto
Copyright © 2001-2004 Integrity/Toronto
This Page last Updated: 31 August 2004
