Programs & Projects

Friday, January 18 at 9-10:30 PM on MPT

MPT's Campaign for Love and Forgiveness is proud to present this very moving documentary about parents of gay youth. Through stories of parents from various religions and cultures, we learn important and universal lessons about love and acceptance. Connected by having a son or daughter who is gay, parents across the country discuss their experiences in the documentary Anyone and Everyone.

In it, filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz, depicts families from all walks of life. Individuals from such diverse backgrounds as Japanese, Bolivian, and Cherokee, as well as from various religious denominations such as Mormon, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Hindu, and Southern Baptist, share intimate accounts of how their children revealed their sexual orientation and discuss their responses. These stories are revealing lessons in love and forgiveness between parent and child, child and family, and child and others.

» View the trailer

Overview

Volunteers from several gay and lesbian community groups from the state of Maryland worked a phone bank during the airing of Anyone and Everyone on January 18, 2008. The documentary, which told the inspirational stories of families of gay and lesbian youths, also asked viewers to call in with questions or concerns of their own. Volunteers fielded nearly 100 calls from all over the state and even into Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Callers voiced an array of concerns, ranging from looking for helping in supporting a gay family member to looking for support groups in the community. The phone bank volunteers then referred the callers to matching community groups in their area, or other resources such as PFLAG, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, or the National STD & AIDS Hotline.

Callers also gave their feedback of the documentary:

“You have done an incredible service to the community, and I dare say you’ve likely saved some lives.”

“[This] is a story that just needs to be told.”

“It was inspiring to hear the stories of the parents who came to embrace their children’s different-ness, whether with relative ease or with great difficulty.”

Online Resources

• AIDS Action Baltimore: dedicated to the support of people with HIV Disease. AAB raises money to support its own patient services programs, and to advocate for more efficient, and more effective treatment services and research programs for people with HIV disease. Downloadable local AIDS resource guide [link to: http://aidsactionbaltimore.org/rg.pdf]
• Brother Help Thyself funds and nurtures nonprofit organizations serving the GLBTQ and HIV/AIDS communities in the Metro Baltimore / Washington areas.
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community of Baltimore and Central Maryland seeks to achieve equality, understanding, and respect for the diversity of the greater Baltimore GLBT community while also providing quality support services, facilities, and professional resources for the development and well-being of individuals and groups.
• The Health Education Resource Association (HERO): a private, non-profit community-based organization located in Baltimore City. Formed in 1983, HERO offers education, resources, and services for all Marylanders affected by AIDS and HIV disease.
• Interfaith Fairness Coalition of MD: an organization of individuals and associations drawn from many religious persuasions that support efforts in MD, DC, and VA to
  • Foster more positive perspectives on homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgenderedness within religious bodies in cooperation with existing GLBT-friendly religious organizations.
  • Implement a program of public education and awareness to counter societal oppression of GLBT persons
  • Nurture a robust, broadly based, statewide interfaith coalition that will develop advocates from within religious bodies
  • Educate each other on our diverse faith communities, teaching respect by example
• Maryland AIDS Administration: a division of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, leads public health initiatives regarding HIV the virus that causes AIDS.
• Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Columbia-Howard County supports parents of gay children. We also welcome all people, gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered, as well as their families and friends. Together, we support each other, educate the broader community, and advocate for equality.
• Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League: Washington, DC metro area service organization solely dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

This initiative is made possible through funding from Iron Zeal Films. Major support is provided by the Fetzer Institute as part of The Campaign for Love and Forgiveness.

MPT thanks its local Anyone and Everyone partners:

• Brother Help Thyself
• Interfaith Fairness Coalition of Maryland
• PFLAG Columbia-Howard County

Sponsor: Frostburg State University HIV/AIDS Technical Assistance Center

Need more information?

Contact us by e-mail at outreach@mpt.org or by telephone: (800) 223-3678, ext. 4034.