About Us

SINCE 1973, PFLAG’S POWERFUL VOICE HAS CHAMPIONED LGBTQ+ PEOPLE AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM

PFLAG is the nation’s first organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.

We are an organization of LGBTQ+ people, parents, families, and allies who work together for an equitable and inclusive world. We are hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of chapters from coast to coast who are leading with love to support families, educate allies, and advocate for just, equitable, and inclusive legislation and policies.

PFLAG’S Mission

To create a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.

We support, educate, and advocate for LGBTQ+ people, their families, and allies across the greater Vancouver area. A proud chapter of PFLAG National, we strive to create a safe, inclusive, affirming community. We work to promote understanding, challenge discrimination, and advance equality for all gender identities and sexual orientations.

PFLAG’S Vision

An equitable, inclusive world where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved.

We envision a world where every LGBTQ+ person is fully embraced by their families, communities, and society—a future free from discrimination, where diverse gender identities and sexual orientations are respected, and where inclusion, equity, and human dignity are at the heart of society.

Our Chapter’s History

Our local PFLAG chapter, first titled Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays was founded in 1996. Jerry King, formerly Vancouver’s City Attorney for nearly three decades and Pastor Farley Maxwell of Vancouver’s United Church of Christ played key roles in getting the chapter incorporated as a nonprofit. The two men played active roles in the chapter until their deaths.

Early Donor

Upon his death in 2008, Jerry King also bequeathed $3,000 to our chapter, an amount which more than doubled the coffers at that time.

Early Chapter Presidents

While Jerry and Farley founded the chapter, Nancy Dresher served as the first president of a four-member board of directors.

Several others followed in Nancy’s stead, each holding office for about two years; that is, until Barbara A. was elected president in 2006. She kept the chapter functioning for an amazing 16 years and continues to serve on the board!

So much changed in those 16 years:

• California voters approved Proposition 8, making same-sex marriage in California illegal, on November 4, 2008
• The Matthew Shepard Act passed on October 28, 2009, prohibiting crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability
• On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states in the landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges

PFLAG National played a crucial role in federal same-sex marriage approval by submitting a key “friends of the court” (amicus) brief to the Supreme Court, offering personal family stories to humanize the issue, advocating for marriage equality as a fundamental right, and supporting related legislation. Then and now, PFLAG chapters everywhere seek equal rights and protections for LGBTQ+ people.

Growing Pains (aka Leg Cramps)

In contrast to these big, national issues and actions, the beginnings of our chapter were humble, to say the least.

“Our first support meetings were kinda comical,” Barbara said in a recent interview. “We met in a Sunday School classroom at the United Church of Christ where we had to sit on little kids’ chairs! None too comfortable. After some time, the Children’s Home Society opened their doors to us, so we could sit on grown-up chairs. Things were a lot more pleasant from then on.”

Barbara went on to say, “We were such a small group at first, things were quite informal. We conducted board business during our support meetings. We didn’t have guest speakers. Instead, we showed films owned by members or checked out of the library. There’s been a humongous change in what our local chapter does now—separate board meetings, guest speakers at support meetings, booths to educate the public at local events, legislative visits, a real budget—oh, lots of things.”

New Names

In 2016, PFLAG National’s rebranding project led to a name change for our chapter. We became PFLAG Southwest Washington (PFLAG SWWA). Same people, same work, new name.

In July of 2024, PFLAG SWWA was administratively dissolved. By October of the same year, the chapter was reorganized as PFLAG Vancouver and renewed its efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community and those who love them.

What We Do

Chapter names may change, but our work will always focus on three core functions:

Support
Many people don’t know where to turn when a child, family member, friend, or other loved one comes out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+). Our members have been there and can offer understanding, information, and hope. We’re here for you.

Education
In addition to the educational portion of support meetings, our local chapter works to educate the public about anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives and bills to be considered by our state legislators. At our support meetings, in personal conversations, and through letters to newspaper editors, we work to dispel disinformation and increase understanding of the damage caused by anti- legislation.

We also pay to have booths at public events, such as Vancouver’s Peace and Justice Fair, Saturday in the Park, PRIDE Block Party, and others where we distribute information and engage visitors in conversations supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Advocacy
Our chapter, in association with other partner organizations, makes visits to Olympia to take our personal stories and educational materials to Washington State legislators to influence them to protect LGBTQ+ children and adults. Chapter members also write, call, and sometimes visit local offices of state and national legislators to educate and influence them to reject anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

An example from the past: PFLAG supported and lobbied for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) to safeguard marriage equality nationwide, even if Obergefell (the right to marry act) were overturned. The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) was passed by the U.S. Congress in late 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 13, 2022, officially codifying federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages and requiring states to recognize such marriages validly performed in other states.

OUR LOCAL IMPACT

• Hundreds of lives supported through advocacy
• Hundreds of families stabilized by education and support
• Untold numbers of volunteers working toward a better society

Our work is needed today more than ever.
BE THE REASON SOMEONE’S STORY CHANGES TODAY

• Give resources where they’re needed most
• Stand with people facing tough moments
• Build a future rooted in equity and care