About SAFE
A community to support, affirm and empower families and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning persons.
Our Mission
To build a community to support, affirm and empower families and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning persons. We provide information and resources, and encourage dialogue that promotes respect for human diversity, and the well-being of all LGBTQIA+ persons and their families.
Support
A listening ear and steady guidance for parents, family and friends finding their way.
Affirmation
Celebrating the dignity and worth of every LGBTQ+ person and the families who love them, exactly as they are.
Empowerment
Information and tools to build strong, close, lasting family relationships.
Our Beginnings
Born of a mother's unconditional love
SAFE was born, appropriately, at a Mother’s Day Forum titled “Unconditional Love” held on 7 May 2006 by AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research) Singapore. It was an afternoon spent sharing stories of unconditional love and celebrating the voices of mothers who love against all odds — stories that spoke of the power of a mother’s love in the face of negative societal stigmatization of gay people.
The forum surfaced issues of handling parental expectations and good intentions, the emotions that accompanied the complex issue of coming out, and how important it is to keep family relationships close and communication channels open.
One of the panellists, Khoo Hoon Eng, herself a mother of two gay sons, spoke of her love for both her sons, and her pride in how both are socially conscious individuals who want to make a difference to society. At the close of the afternoon, she was moved to moot the idea of a support group for parents and family: a group she wished had been available for guidance, and perhaps just a listening ear, when her sons came out to her.
SAFE was thus born.
Through this website, we provide a place where parents, family members and friends of gay and transgender people can find information to understand the issues better, learn from accepting families, share stories and experiences — and most of all, learn to build strong and close relationships with their loved ones.
Please write to family@safesingapore.org if you would like to be involved or to find out more.