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PAGE 4THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JULY 30, 2003 www.durhamrcgion.com Organization offers support for gays and lesbians Family members invited to get involved, talk BY ALEXIS SCIUK Staff Writer DURHAM - She calls it the 'quiet factor.' That's how Laura Jcnkinson, from Oshawa. describes the wall of.silence that builds up around the issue of homosexuality. homosexuality. Ms. Jcnkinson is a lesbian who says many people have trouble talking talking not only to her about her sexual orientation but about gay and lesbian relationships in general. After holding it inside, Ms. Jcnkinson. then 25, finally finally decided to come out of the closet closet eight years ago. Now 33, Ms. Jcnkinson says those walls with people are just starting to break down after years of silence about her sexuality. In hopes of bettering her relation-' ship with her family, Ms. Jcnkinson contacted Parents and Friends of Lesbians Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). "Different members of my family will accept me in different ways," said Ms. Jcnkinson. "1 contacted PFLAG for myself, to try to connect my family with my own sexual orientation orientation and bridge the gap. We were able to have a meeting and it was a very positive experience. Being a lesbian lesbian is as normal as anything else. It is all I have ever known," said Ms. Jcnkinson. PFLAG is a non-profit international international volunteer organization which was founded in 1981 to provide local support support groups for family members who have recently had a child "come out." PFLAG says it provides an opportunity opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation orientation and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of all human beings. According to PFLAG there were no local organizations dedicated to helping gays and lesbians in Durham Region before spring 2002. People could phone a Toronto-based youth phone line to get answers to questions but,, according to Oshawa native, Lindsey Clarke, one of the Durham PFLAG organizers, that resource was just not enough. "What do you do when there is someone on a Friday night at whatever whatever time who needs to talk?" said Ms. Clarke. Ms. Clarke said that the window of opportunity for people to call was too small and because of that she wants people to know PFLAG is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. "We are trying to get involved and have people on call. If we get...an emergency we want to let them know it isn't the end of the world," she said. According to PFLAG statistics, the suicide rate among gay and lesbian lesbian teenagers is far higher than among heterosexual teenagers, which is why the organization feels its services services are not only helpful but necessary. necessary. Francine 'Frankie' Doucette of Oshawa began the PFLAG chapter in Durham after her son David told her he was gay. Lindsey Clarke is David's best friend and joined together with Mrs. Doucette to help give teens an outlet and opportunity to talk to people people who are supportive. "1 went into the |Pride] Parade last year for the first time and 1 was so overwhelmed by it that I just had a Summer school report cards ready Friday CLARINGTON - Summer school is almost out and the report cards will be ready. The 1,263 Cobourg and Bow- manville students who attended summer classes will be finished tomorrow tomorrow and can pick up their report cards Friday. Cards can be picked up from Bowmanvillc High School from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.. and from Cobourg District Collegiate Institute East from 1 to 4 p.m. After Friday, report cards will be available at the Centre for Individual Individual Studies, 90 Murray St., Peterborough Peterborough from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m. until Aug. 21. If still not picked up, reports are being sent to students' guidance departments departments and will lie ready Aug. os 49* : Students who want them mailed to their homes should bring a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the summer school office at their site. As of July 17, 540 students were registered for summer school in Cobourg, 723 in Bowmanvillc plus 15 classes of elementary students. ALEXIS SCIUK/ Statesman photo Organizers of the group Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, from left, Lindsay Clarke, Laura Jcnkinson and Francine Doucette are hoping to bring down the communication walls that often surround surround homosexuality. lump in my throat the whole time I was walking. And that is what gave me more of the incentive to get this going because I thought we really need something like this," said Mrs. Doucette. Mrs. Doucette says she understands how parents feel after a child tells them they are gay but wants parents to know it isn't the end of the world either. either. "It look me 10 minutes to get over it. I said |lo David] 'You don't look any different, you are the same person and I love you no matter what.' " After David told her he was gay, she began wondering how long he had kept it from her. "I don't know how long he held it inside. And that was the part that really really bothered me, that he felt he had to hold it inside for so long," said Mrs. Doucette. Although the Durham PFLAG chapter is still fairly young, the organization organization has been receiving calls. Ms. Clarke hopes that in time the word will get out that there is an organization here to help families who are not sure of what to say or do. "One day we will get to a stage where we are meeting on a regular basis. And then maybe we can move it out of the living room. We are on an as-needed basis right now," said Ms. Clarke. PFLAG will talk to anyone and encourages encourages teens struggling to tell their parents to call for advice or even schedule a meeting. 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