PFLAG Opens Doors and Hearts
Local nonprofit offers a safe space for families with LGBTQ children
By Vanessa Infanzon | Photos courtesy of PFLAG and the Pardo family
Annabelle Pardo contacted PFLAG in 2017, when her teenage son, Nicolas, came out as transgender. The Providence Pointe family needed help navigating this journey. “It was very difficult,” Pardo says. “We had no clue what a transgender person was or what that looked like. It was unknown territory for us as parents.”
PFLAG Charlotte, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit focused on advocating, educating and supporting LGBTQ people and their parents, families and allies. (In 2014, the organization changed its name from Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to the current name, PFLAG.) The Charlotte chapter is part of PFLAG National, the first and largest organization of its kind, with almost 400 chapters — at least one in every state in the U.S.
After an initial meeting with two PFLAG parents, Pardo and her husband, Jorge Pardo, attended monthly PFLAG support group meetings. It provided them with a safe space to share experiences and identify obstacles and stress each family may face. “It helps me to be at peace with my feelings,” she says. “It also helps somebody else who can listen to me and see their future and know it’s going to be OK.”
After an initial meeting with two PFLAG parents, Pardo and her husband, Jorge Pardo, attended monthly PFLAG support group meetings. It provided them with a safe space to share experiences and identify obstacles and stress each family may face. “It helps me to be at peace with my feelings,” she says. “It also helps somebody else who can listen to me and see their future and know it’s going to be OK.”
Since 2019, Pardo’s been on the PFLAG Charlotte board of directors, as a member of the education committee. It’s her way of giving back to the organization. “Without having the support of PFLAG, our outcome would probably be much different,” she says. “The majority of children who don’t have the support of their family and their environment, unfortunately, the rate of suicide is very high. We were very fortunate to find (PFLAG).”
Pardo facilitates “Fostering LGBTQ+ Allyship in the Workplace,” a one-hour training for corporations and nonprofits such as Duke Energy, HopeWay, Lowe’s, Moore & Van Allen, Novant Health, OrthoCarolina and Truist. Pardo shares her story with participants to raise awareness and bring inclusivity.