LGBT parents and prospective parents will find a host of resources under one roof next month.
Philadelphia Family Pride is hosting its fifth-annual Family Matters conference 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 1 at The Philadelphia School, 2501 Lombard St.
The event is an opportunity to network, share information and get concrete advice from LGBTQ parents, attorneys and other professionals through a series of curated workshops and panels.
This year’s theme, “Our Families and the Future,” will cover topics related to how electronics and social media are becoming part of how the LGBT community connects, and the impact technology has on adults, kids and family units.
Mary Anders, former detective for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, will be the keynote speaker. Her talk is entitled “Cyberbullying & Sexting: Prevention, Education & Tips for Parents.”
Stephanie Haynes, community coordinator for PFP, said there were two elements that continually draw people to the event.
“It’s this sense of connection. Many of us do have friends that are LGBT parents, but coming to a place where there are 100 of you is a really nice feeling. I’ve seen it time and time again. People come here and make friends and connections that last a lifetime,” she said. “The other thing is for the kids. The more the kids attend these events, the more their experience is normalized. Not only do they see one other kid with gay parents, they see a whole bunch of different types of families — trans, gay, lesbian, black, Latino, etc.”
Other workshop topics include: babymaking in the 21st century; assisted-reproductive options for LGBT families; the impact of marriage equality in Pennsylvania; and connecting to online LGBT resources.
While all panels are led by experts in their respective fields, Haynes emphasized parental viewpoints will also be given throughout.
“It’s not just about the experts. We will have parents sharing their stories too. We can learn from each other,” she said.
The overarching technology theme this year stemmed from high demand by PFP members.
“We do a request for proposals where members and board members suggest topics. This topic immediately resonated with the planning committee,” Haynes said. “Navigating privacy on the internet, and introducing your kids to how to use a phone. For those of us who have younger kids, it’s good to get ahead of the curve.”
The conference was first held in 2010 at the Bryn Mawr School of Social Work and Social Research and offered 20 workshops for attendees.
Since then, it has grown in accordance with the swelling PFP membership, which now boasts about 150 active family members and another 100 who attend about one PFP event a year, according to Haynes.
While the conference is the organization’s largest educational event of the year, and typically draws a large crowd, it is still a challenge getting parents and families to attend, Haynes said.
“That is the big challenge. So we plan a lot of activities, usually on the smaller side where we will meet in someone’s home with just a few families and have dinner. But,” she added, “this is one of our objectives at the conference this year: To ask our members and discuss how we can better engage them.”
Free childcare will be provided at the conference.
For more information or to register, visit www.philadelphiafamilypride.org.