Dear HeartStrong Friends,
So many times in our work, we have to reveal some pretty dark and horrifying
truths about GLBT students and how they are persecuted in religious schools. It
doesn’t seem like things are going to get any better for our students any time
soon. Expulsions, reparative therapy, harassment and public outings are
continuing at an advancing rate. Our work continues to be more vital and more
important than ever.
Some time ago, we reported and posted on our site, a story about a young man in
south Florida who had been expelled from his Christian school for being gay. His
mother took an incredibly bold step and sued the school. This is the only
instance where a parent has sued a religious school after their child’s
expulsion. It was a brave move and in 2004, the mom, Carol Gload was presented
with HeartStrong’s Leave a Light award for her courage. Her son
was also presented with the 2004 Jordan Carter Courage Award from
HeartStrong.
A few weeks ago, we were proud and privileged to attend the first meeting of the
newly formed Treasure Coast (FL) PFLAG group headed by Carol Gload. It was an
amazing experience to see that amidst all of the turmoil and emotional tumult
surrounding her son’s expulsion and the ongoing legal battle, that Carol has
been able to think about others, too. The meeting was attended by several others
including PFLAG Regional Director, Carole Benowitz and other PFLAG family, Don
and Nancy Spraragen. The PFLAG meeting was hosted by the Treasure Coast
Unitarian Universalist Church.
This is a great step forward for this family and a great community service
for that part of Florida. We’re proud of Carol and her courage to help others.
Thank you, Carol, for doing for your son and others what many of our parents
could not do for us.
And we are proud of all of our supporters whose faithful financial support
allows us to reach out to family’s just like Carol’s.
Thank you for your support!
Carol Gload and Marc Adams