Volunteers at the Forefront of FLAS Pride

Every year, FLAS has a walking unit in Houston’s annual Pride parade. This year, a large walking unit of mostly FLAS volunteers moved down the parade route—some wearing T-shirts, others passing soccer balls to each other, and a group that danced wearing colorful indigenous Mexican outfits.

Each year, FLAS sponsors a Mr. and Miss FLAS competition, and the winners take on ambassadorial roles for the organization and assist in raising funds.

In 2016, FLAS founder Elia Chino was recognized by OutSmart magazine as one of the top Hispanic LGBTQ leaders in Houston. In 2022, she was honored by Televisa Univision for her service to the local community. In 2024, President Biden invited her to attend a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the White House.

Chino has recently been appointed to the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board. “Sometimes I think that I’m dreaming,” she says. “All the wonderful things that God has sent to my life.”

A quick web search shows several other awards that Chino has received. While the awards are gratifying, she says that the greatest recognition is knowing that she has helped make life better for others.

Finding Life Again
Rita Cordero

Rita Cordero, 59, came to America from Costa Rica at the age of 17. She was part of a family of 12 children—six boys and six girls. She realized at an early age that she was a lesbian, and feeling uncomfortable about coming out, she often fell into bouts of depression.

In 1995, Cordero became an American citizen. In 2017, she broke up with a partner of 10 years after discovering her partner had been unfaithful for years. When the partner threatened her life, Cordero sought protection from the police. At the police station, an employee talked with her and asked if she was gay. When Cordero said she was, the employee recommended that she seek help from FLAS.

Cordero had never taken drugs, but she had often abused alcohol. She spent seven years at FLAS, first getting sober and then meeting with a therapist for individual sessions.

Before reaching out to FLAS, Cordero had tried twice to take her own life while in alcoholic stupors, once with a gun and a second time with pills. “FLAS gave me the opportunity to have a life,” she says. “They showed me so much love and that they really cared. So I realized I needed to change, and now I’m another person.”

Cordero now lives with her 94-year-old mother in the Tanglewood area, and is her caretaker. They often enjoy watching reruns of Bonanza and other cowboy shows.

“Anytime FLAS needs my help, I’ll always be there because these people change people,” Cordero says. She is always ready to speak to others who could benefit from the FLAS programs, telling them about the transformation she experienced in her own life.

Destiny’s Child
Juan Perez

Juan Perez, now 58, first met Elia Chino in 1999 at Inergy nightclub. She asked if he might like to volunteer with FLAS, but Perez says he was still a young man and just wanted to spend his nights dancing and partying.

The years passed, and in 2013 a neighbor invited him to attend Colores Latinos, a FLAS program whose goal is to improve the quality of life for gay Latino men over the age of 18. The program motivates participants to express their concerns openly and without fear of judgment, and to realize the importance of intelligent relationships.

Colores Latinos helps young gay men learn about safe sex, emotional control, and the realities of alcohol and other drugs. “They emphasize that it is very dangerous to mix drugs, alcohol, and sex,” Perez says.

Perez remembered meeting Chino a decade and a half before. He told her that he had just lost his mother and was very depressed and had turned to alcohol. Chino suggested he begin seeing one of the FLAS therapists. “I talked to the therapist, and she helped me a lot with the pain of losing my mother, and she helped me learn to control my alcohol abuse. I started to get better and feel different,” he says.

Perez has been a part of the organization ever since, working as a volunteer. He has worked at health fairs and community events and was instrumental in coordinating the first FLAS Zumba classes. At the 2014 Christmas party, he was given the organization’s Volunteer of the Year award.

For the last ten years, Perez has coordinated the FLAS walking units in the annual Pride parades. This year’s unit included a huge Mexican flag that was borrowed from the Mexican consulate.

Chino invited Perez to be a member of the FLAS board, and he has been serving in that role for over eight years. He also serves on an advisory group that goes out into the community to determine what the community’s needs are. He then helps promote the programs that FLAS is offering.

In April of this year, Perez was one of ten scholarship recipients. He plans to use the funds to become a phlebotomist, studying at UTHealth Houston. “I feel like destiny put FLAS in my life,” Perez says. And he intends to keep it a part of his life.

For more info, visit flasinc.org.