LETTER: Programs Help Jewish LGBT Community

Editor's Note: Following is Mark Patro's letter to the editor.

JCC Working to Provide Services to LGBT Community

On April 18 a variety of Jewish leaders gathered to discuss developing programs for Jewish LGBT people, their families and friends.

Miriam D., an Orthodox Jewish mom, was one of the organizers of this meeting. She got involved in this work after her son came out to her several months earlier. Finding no available services for Jewish parents of gay children Miriam turned to PFLAG Baltimore County. Miriam and Arlene Falk, another PFLAG mom, contacted Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, the Jewish Community Center and Jewish Community Services Baltimore.

On March 18 Miriam and Arlene, in cooperation with Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, put together a showing of the documentary, "Mom and Dad I Have Something to Tell You," which portrays the coming-out process. The film was followed by a panel discussion which included both Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen and Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg, and first-hand experiences of Jason Creeger, a teacher and Michael Falk, professor at JHU. The presentation was attended by 60 community members.

"Two things became clear to me as a result of that program," reflected Miriam. "One is that the general Jewish public wants to become better informed about issues regarding the lives of the LGBT population. The other is that, as we speak, there are Jewish teens who are questioning their sexual identity and if they cannot do this within a Jewish venue, we are likely to lose them to assimilation. Or, as one person pointed out, every time a Jewish gay person commits suicide, our Jewish population decreases even more!”

The planning meeting in April was a direct outgrowth of the program last month and the discussion centered around:

What needs do we see in our Jewish community vis a vis LGBTQ issues for teens, young adults and older adults, and for the parents/family? 

What sorts of programs/services would help to meet these needs? 

How can we better educate the community at large about the LGBT population within the Jewish Community?

One program, which is already planned, is a support group for Jewish family and friends of gays and lesbians to be held at the Owings Mills JCC on the second Wednesday of each month. The first gathering is scheduled for June 13, 2012.

For specific details, please contact Melissa Berman by email: mberman@jcc.org or by phone: 410-559-3593.