PFLAG is a national organization that started in 1972, and has since opened affiliate chapters in more than 460 communities across America. PFLAG stands for Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (and also includes and supports bisexual and transgendered individuals.)
PFLAG’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons (referred to on this site as the GLBT community), and their families and friends.
Our local chapter started in mid-1997, after the El Dorado Round Table on Human Rights held a meeting in which a local gay high school teen shared his story of harassment, abuse, and torment at his school and in the community, when classmates learned that he was gay. This student did not feel safe or supported enough to continue his studies, and dropped out of school.
We learned that his story was not a unique one, and it became clear that our community needed a PFLAG chapter. Soon, a group of people that cared came together, including mothers and fathers of LGBT daughters and sons, health educators, and friends and family members of gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual people. PFLAG Placerville sought and achieved non-profit status, under the umbrella of PFLAG National.
