March 31, 2022
International Trans Day of Visibility
Frankie Sapp (he/him), Program Director
San Mateo County Pride Center
Today I am being visible in solidarity with my gender diverse community and to let others not quite ready to be visible that you are still seen.
All the letters in the alphabet soup (LGBTQ ) are not the same. Together we are all over-represented in all mental health disparities, and Trans and gender diverse people are impacted at even higher rates. We are more prone to isolation and depression because we are more likely to be taught to be ashamed of who we are.
It is time to change the narrative. Now is the time to move from allyship to advocacy.
Increasing our mental health (and everyone's), and creating a better, healthier environment for everyone means:
- teaching all of us about gender and sexuality,
- respecting everyone’s pronouns,
- teaching us about healthy sexuality that is relevant to us all, and
- creating a world that embraces us.
It is hard to love yourself when we are first introduced to silence and shame. Give us a voice and instead we will sing. To all my friends, family, loved ones, and gorgeous community who have already embraced me so lovingly: Thank you. You have contributed to my health, my wellbeing, my positive self-image, my accomplishments and growth, and the integrity of my character.
To all of you who identify as I do, whether or not you choose to be visible, please know I welcome you and, with me, you are safe.
We belong.
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Queer Voices: A Panel on Intersectionality and the Environment
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What does queering environmental sustainability mean? In honor of April Earth Day 2022, join us on Tuesday, April 19th from 6-7:30pm for Queer Voices: A Panel on Intersectionality and the Environment. From a presentation about the history of environmental sustainability to a panel with two guest speakers from Planting Justice, come hear from LGBTQ folx of color about their experiences in sustainability justice work, and what the history of queer and marginalized people teach can us in reexamining the current sustainability movement. Following the event, event participants will learn about resources, books, and organizations to support in solidarity with Earth Day 2022's theme, "Invest in our Planet''.
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This is an event you won't want to miss! Stay tuned for more updates about our guest speakers. Stay tuned for more updates about our guest speakers!
Register in advance at tinyurl.com/QueerEarthDay2022
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Rainbow Kids: a free training in April
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| Children form foundational concepts of gender, families, and love before the age of five. As such, parents, teachers, and other caregivers of young children may have questions like:
What everyday influences shape my child’s sense of what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl”?
How do I support a child’s exploration through play of concepts like family and gender?
What strategies can I use to encourage children to feel safe and confident in their bodies, families, classroom and world?
This free webinar (in English) is for parents, caregivers, and anyone who wants a more expansive, welcoming world for young children. Using scenario practice and interactive games, this webinar will demonstrate how to support folks all across the rainbow. It will be facilitated by Azisa Todd (Lead Trainer for the San Mateo County Pride Center) and Nathanael Flynn (Early Childhood Educator and co-author of Supporting Gender Diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms). Closed captioning will be available.
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| Folks have the option of selecting from three dates to attend a training
(each webinar contains the same content):
Tuesday, April 5, 4 to 5:30pm
Tuesday, April 12, 5:30 to 7pm
Wednesday, April 27, 4 to 5:30pm
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Please use this link or click the button below to register:
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A special outing hosted by Peninsula Family Service
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Trip to the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
Friday, April 29th from 11 AM – 1:30 PM
We are ready to travel again in a safe and healthy way. Come join us to learn about the Rodin sculptures and view the Gordon Parks photography exhibit. For more about the Iris & B.Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, please see this link. Please RSVP by April 22
If you have questions or would like to RSVP, please contact Ellyn at ebloomfield@peninsulafamilyservice.org.
When you register, we can discuss transportation options.
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The Pride Center needs YOU!
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Are you interested in learning about event planning? Would you love an opportunity to be more involved in your community?
Then the Pride Center's Community Advisory Board (CAB) Planning Committee is for you! Join the CAB Planning Committee as we work on special projects, like the Pride Center's 5 Year Anniversary Celebration! CAB currently meets on the second Wednesday of every month from 6-8pm and works side by side with the Pride Center to support AND create community events Be the voice in your community and join us in making the Pride Center's events as unique as you!
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For the latest updates follow us on social media:
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PENINSULA FAMILY SERVICE UPDATES
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Please click the button below for a comprehensive list of Older Adult programs including weekly workout classes, an LGBTQ Women's group, a special outing (see above) and other exciting programs in APRIL & some programs in May from our partners at Peninsula Family Service.
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LGBTQIA Youth group (10-18)
Weekly on Mondays from 4:30-6:00 PM.
If you're interested in joining the group, please contact outletprogram@acs-teens.org or 650-424-0852 ext. 107 for more information.
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QTBIPOC Group (14-25)
A weekly group that takes place Tuesdays from
6-7:30PM
If you're interested in joining the group,please fill out intake form here:
https://tinyurl.com/outletintakeform or
call 650-424-0852 ext. 107 for more information.
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| | The Pride Center and Stanford LGBTQ Health Program co-host Trans Talks, a free, monthly workshop series that centers the health and wellness of our Transgender and Non-Binary community members. All are welcome to attend. Community members are invited to ask questions on their health and wellness. Every month, a different professional from Stanford's LGBTQ Health Program will share information, lead a discussion and answer your questions. This is a free workshop open to all community members.
There is no Trans Talks workshop scheduled for April, please stay tuned for news about a workshop in May.
To access recordings of previous Trans Talks, please use this link: tinyurl.com/transtalks-recordings
Please note: all recordings utilize closed captioning.
If you have questions, need support or would like to suggest a topic please contact neilwary@stanford.edu
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Current Therapy Availability! For those of our community seeking support around mental health, we are happy to report that our clinical team is taking on new clients. We have openings for both private pay and Medi-Cal clients. Interested? Fill out our handy Clinical Services Request form and a clinician will reach out to you within a few days:
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The next name and gender marker workshop takes place on April 27th.
This is a free workshop, registration is required! Please see button below to RSVP.
Please reach out to Alex (he/him) at Alex.Golding@sanmatepride.org or 650-465-6795 for support
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Just a reminder: we offer some financial aide for the legal process and free gender affirming supplies. For more information about this, please see this link: bit.ly/ngc-aid-request
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All groups have moved to Zoom video. Please contact Devon (He/Him) at Devon.Dye@sanmateopride.org to access links for our peer support groups.
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Peer support group is for LGBTQ folks age 18 who are parents of kid(s) 0-5 years old to support each other, share parenting wisdom, and build community. This group is open to anyone who is a parent or caregiver of young children, with all family formations and ways of being or becoming a parent welcome!
This group will meet twice a month from 7-8:30PM on the first and third Tuesdays,
April's dates are: 4/5 & 4/19
This group is currently meeting via Zoom. Pre-registration is required; please register in advance at: tinyurl.com/smcpc-parentsgroup
If you’re interested in joining this group but the above times don’t work for you, please contact Devon Dye (He/Him) at Devon.Dye@sanmateopride.org
We understand that scheduling is challenging as a parent of little ones and we want to do our best to make this group accessible to you.
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| | | April's topic: Participant's Choice
Do you have questions about non-monogamous relationships? Are you wondering how others are handling poly situations? Bring your questions, topics, knowledge, experiences and wisdom, and we’ll explore the topics that are most pressing for our community right now. Our hosts will facilitate the discussion in a way that keeps the topics flowing and invites sharing from those in the virtual room.
Find out more on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Polyamory-Peer-Power/events/mptcqsydccbhb/
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://tinyurl.com/smcpc-polyampower
This group meets monthly on the first Wednesday from 7-8:30 PM PST.
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| Upcoming dates are: May 1, June 4 & July 6
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The Trans Peer Support Group (18 ) meets monthly on the first Monday from 6-7:30PM. This is a free group & registration is required: tinyurl.com/smcpc-transgroup1
April's meeting date is 4/4
Upcoming dates are: 5/2 & 6/6
* As a gentle reminder, we have clinical support available to community members who feel like they would benefit from more support than this social group has available. We will work with you to ensure that these services are accessible.
We also have free gender affirming supplies available. To access these supplies, please contact Alex.Golding@sanmateopride.org or Francisco.Sapp@sanmateopride.org.
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| | | Queer Women’s Group (18 )
Join the Queer Women’s Group’s next meeting on Friday, April 22nd from 6-7:30pm! This group is a place where all women identifying folks 18 are welcome. Come to meet new people and build community together!
This group meets monthly on the 4th Friday. Upcoming meeting dates are 5/27 & 7/22
Pre-registration is required. Register for your unique Zoom access link here: tinyurl.com/smcpc-queerwomxn
For questions or support, please contact Devon Dye (He/Him) at Devon.Dye@sanmateopride.org
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| LGBTQ Book Club (18 ) from 4:30-6:00 PM
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The book club is a partnership with the San Mateo County Public Library System, Peninsula Family Service and San Mateo County Pride Center. It’s open to all members of the community, including allies and friends.The book club is a partnership with the San Mateo County Public Library System and San Mateo County Pride Center. It’s open to all members of the community, including allies and friends.
Community members who are invited to attend even if they haven't read the book. Come participate in the discussion!
Please consider utilizing the SMCL to access an e-book, hard copy or audiobook of the books.
Registration is required: tinyurl.com/smcpc-bookclub
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Wednesday, April 6 from 4:30-6:00 PM
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes. |
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| | | Wednesday, May 4 from 4:30- 6:00 PM
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?
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| Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family
story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing.
Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
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As we continue to navigate around COVID-19
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- Just a reminder that the Pride Center is currently not open to the public & is available for clinical services and private events. For more information about scheduling to be onsite at the Pride Center, please contact Francisco.Sapp@sanmateopride.org.
- Just a reminder that you only have to register for each peer support group once! The meeting information you receive will remain the same.
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Stay safe and take care!
In community,
Marilyn (she/her)
Marketing and Community Engagement Lead
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Do you enjoy/benefit from our programs and services? Are you able to/Would you like to support our essential work? We welcome and appreciate donations of any amount, big or small.
It all matters. Yes, we really mean that.
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The San Mateo County Pride Center is a program of StarVista in collaboration with Outlet of Adolescent Counseling Services, and Peninsula Family Service.
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