PFLAG mom Toni Weaver wrote the following essay for the PFLAG Open Doors newsletter, and introduced Windy City Times Publisher Tracy Baim to the Pirtles at the recent Rockford, Ill., protest of Exodus; their photo appeared in the Windy City Times coverage of the event. Following Weaver's essay are essays by Amy and her 15-year-old gay son Bobby, reflecting on the harassment he faced, and how his family helped him cope.
I'd like to tell you about a special familythe Pirtles. Amy and Mike Pirtle relocated to this area from Racine, Wisc., a little more than a year ago. Their son, Bobby, spent a miserable freshman year at one of the McHenry County high schools being the brunt of anti-gay jokes and bullying even before he came out. During the summer he told his parents that he simply couldn't go back to that school in the Fall. Amy and Mike made the very difficult decision to put their home on the market and to rent a townhouse in Lombard so that Bobby could attend Glenbard East High School.
Early on, Amy had been in touch with Shannon Sullivan at Illinois Safe Schools Alliance and learned that Glenbard East has an active Gay/Straight Alliance and rates highly as a school that has taken measures to protect their LGBT students. The climate there should provide Bobby with a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn.
In addition to being a volunteer with the Open Door Clinic in Elgin, Amy has been a dynamic member of our Woodstock chapter of PFLAG, and her loss is devastating, for she has brought so much energy and enthusiasm to the chapter. However, whichever chapter picks her up will be so much the richer.
IN THIS ISSUE [ LINK HERE OR FROM THIS ISSUE'S MAIN INDEX ]
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php Anti-suicide project reflects on cases
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php DePaul vigil remembers teen suicides
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Kirk Williamson
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Tracy Baim
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Amy Pirtle
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Bobby Pirtle
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Eric Marcus
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Alexandra Billings
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Caleb's Story
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Karlis Streips
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by John R. Cepek
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Judy Shepard
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Lee Lynch
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Kristi Keorkunian
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Joshua Plant
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Chris Hill
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php Trevor Project Chicago events
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php Stopping Bullies in Illinois
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php Mother of Slain Teen Gwen Araujo Addresses LGBT Youth Suicide by Sylvia Guerrero
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Carl G. Streed Jr.
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Thom Bierdz
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Kit Duffy
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Vernita Gray
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php by Wancy Young Cho
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