Companis Worker Eileen Otti (right) and volunteer Marlene Lund (left), PFLAG volunteers, delivered intersex-inclusive Pride flags to Scriber Lake High School’s Principal Mike Piper in October. (Photo courtesy PFLAG Seattle)
By Jim Segaar, Companis Worker
After reaching out to Companis with the goal of serving the LGBTQIA+ community, Eileen Otti is making the most of her placement with PFLAG Seattle. Fueling her desire to serve the LGBTQIA+ community has a familial connection. Her daughter is Lesbian, and she has two niblings (a gender-neutral term for nephews and nieces) who are Trans.
Eileen, a lawyer, chose a career in public service and worked at the Social Security Administration, where she reviewed administrative law judge decisions for most of the western United States. After retiring a couple years ago she started looking for volunteer opportunities but had difficulty finding the right opportunity. She lives in Bothell with her husband, and eventually was drawn to a Companis table at a volunteer fair in Snohomish County. Companis Snohomish Program Manager Tia Lawson reached out to her quickly.
“Tia did all the ground work,” says Eileen. It took a bit of time, and eventually she was matched with PFLAG Seattle to draft the monthly newsletter.
Soon after her placement with PFLAG, Eileen became even more involved, and joined the organization. Now, “she does a little bit of everything,” says Deb Darhling, PLFAG Seattle president. Eileen says community service comes to her naturally. She was raised in northern Utah by parents who volunteered with the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and Habitat for Humanity. Volunteering was “the ethic I grew up with,” she said.
The recent election has concerned many people, according to Eileen, especially protecting the vulnerable Trans and Non-binary community. And many of those concerned are reaching out to PFLAG. Attendance is up at local meetings, and new chapters are being formed all over the country and in the Pacific Northwest, with chapters in Wenatchee, Clarkston, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
The Trans and Non-Binary community is under the kind of stress and struggle that Lesbians and Gay men faced in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, says PFLAG’s Darling. “Same crap. Same bullying. Same hatred,” she adds.
Dahrling estimates that 99 percent of those seeking help from PFLAG today are parents, friends, and supporters of Trans and Non-binary people. While PFLAG is keeping its well-known acronym, the spelled-out title of “Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays” she says no longer makes sense.
Attendance at Seattle chapter meetings has also grown, says Dahrling. The chapter sponsors meetings in multiple locations, and some meetings are online. About six years ago it was not unusual for no one to show up for a meeting on Capitol Hill. Dahrling thought that PFLAG may no longer be needed. But during the COVID epidemic, PFLAG began meeting online, and attendance increased. Following the epidemic, groups returned to in-person meetings, as well as offering online and hybrid gatherings. On a recent Monday the Capitol Hill meeting had 22 attendees in person and several more online, she says.
Support meetings are the top priority for PFLAG. Chapters also offer education on topics of interest and advocate for at-risk populations.
Involvement with PFLAG has been a very positive experience for Eileen. “I’d never gone to a Pride event before,” she said. “That was great fun.” She has attended Pride events in Edmonds and White Center, where her daughter works. In the future she says she may march in a pride parade.
Eileen is using knowledge she gained from PFLAG in other ways as well. Her friends have accepted her as “an expert in the field.” She helped a friend in Yakima find a church that welcomes LGBTQIA+ people. Another friend needed assistance locating a medical facility where a Trans person could receive treatment.
“PFLAG is there, both for the families and friends, and for the people themselves,” says Eileen, adding that if your own family is not available to help, the PFLAG family is.