Since 2019, PFLAG Niceville has sought to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in Okaloosa County.
This past weekend was the sixth annual Pride event bringing hundreds of queer people and allies together. Even bad weather didn’t rain on the parade — or pride walk.
“I thought it was a huge success,” said David Simmons, President of PFLAG Niceville, a local support group for LGBTQ+ people and their families, part of the national PFLAG network. “It was just so exciting to see hundreds of LGBTQ people and their friends and families have a space where they could be celebrated for who they are.”
The all-day Pride event took place Saturday and included a performance from the Gulf Coast Pride Choir, speakers, open mic, and concluded with a Pride Prom.
A big focus of PFLAG is supporting LGBTQ youth, and equipping their families with the tools to be better support systems.
“That's why our work is so important right now, because the youth who are in trouble are the LGBTQ youth,” said Simmons.“They're the ones that have four to five times more chance of dying by suicide. They have 120% statistically more likely to be homeless than their straight peers.”
In small towns like Niceville, there are less affirming places for the LGBTQ community compared to more metro areas such as Pensacola or Panama City. And laws such as the Parental Rights in Education Act, widely known as “Don’t Say Gay” have limited how LGBTQ issues have been taught or discussed in schools — though a recent settlement clarified some parts of the law including the fact that Gay-Straight Alliance groups are allowed.
PFLAG Niceville offers a bridge of hope.
“There's a few spaces that LGBTQ youth have, really, to be safe and to be nurtured, and one's their home and one is their church and one is their school,” said Simmons. And so, a lot of LGBTQ youth are not affirmed and sometimes are kicked out of their homes. Many of them are kicked out of their churches … many of them don't have a safe space at school anymore. And so our work is really to try to save and affirm and celebrate LGBTQ lives.”
The Niceville group meets regularly in Crestview and Niceville. About a dozen or so people show up to the meetings. Misti Schneidewind, treasurer of PFLAG Niceville, said she would’ve liked to have this group years ago to support her LGBTQ daughter, who is now grown and married.
“That's one of the reasons why she doesn't feel comfortable coming home to visit is because she doesn't feel safe walking down the street holding her wife's hand,” Schneidewind explained.
Simmons, who is gay, said events like Pride would’ve benefitted him when he was growing up.
“I think my generation that grew up where you had to hide who you were can cause so many problems,” he said. “Internalized homophobia. It can cause depression, it can cause anxiety. And so I actually have great hope for the future because of our youth, who are filled with love and affirmation for each other. We just need to help the older people to catch up with the youth.”
But events like Emerald Coast Pride change the narrative. Schneidewind shared an email she received from a recent college graduate who was back at home in Niceville for the weekend and witnessed part of the Pride event.
“I want to read this one little line, they said, “You made my final impression of my forever home, a hopeful one.’ In their email, they had said, ‘I hope you heard me honking loudly.’ You know, as they're driving out of Niceville, that's the impression that they were left with. I'm so glad that we could give them that memory.”
Both Simmons and Schneidewind say they’ve seen more acceptance of the Pride events as it’s grown. But there is also the backlash. At an April City Council meeting, Holy Name of Jesus Parish Deacon Tom Elsesser compared holding a Pride event at the Niceville Community Center to the city hosting a Ku Klux Klan rally, according to reports. And at the event itself, a handful of people protested the event with signs.
“I think that this type of event always brings out the haters with the loudest voices,” said Schneidewind. “At no point did I feel like anyone was in danger. It was just a loud discussion of different views, and we expect that it's a natural part of these events, unfortunately, but it's the reason why these events are so important.”
Simmons said they snuck out of the back door of the community center building for the pride walk to avoid protestors. During the pride walk, they were mainly met with positive honks and waves. The rain also stopped just in time for the rainbow flags to fly.
“My favorite part of the pride walks, there's a group called Mama Bears. They're usually moms of LGBTQ youth, and they had a mom hugs place,” said Simmons. “That's really what we want to do, is just spread the power of love in Niceville.”
PFLAG Niceville holds monthly support meetings in Okaloosa County. The next dates are 6 p.m. Sunday, June 9 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Emerald Coast, and 6 p.m. Sunday, July 7 at the First Presbyterian Church of Crestview. For more information, visit pflagniceville.com.
