(WHNT) — It’s Pride Month! While the month is best known as a recognition of the LGBTQ+ community, it is also a time to reflect on the progress and culture of the community as a whole.

News 19 compiled a list of available resources and organizations in North Alabama that are accepting and embracing the LGBTQ+ community – from mental health services to social groups and even houses of worship. Those resources are organized by category below.

Health

Physical Health

• Thrive Alabama: Offers LGBTQ+ health care including physical examinations, transgender care, care for common conditions, acute care, chronic disease management, immunizations, cancer, case management, and nutrition counseling. Learn more here.
• Dr. Kathy Sparacino: Dr. Sparacino will start or continue hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with a letter from a mental health professional. Sparacino also offers general practice services. Contact Dr. Sparacino at 256-340-5150.
• Dr. Lona Haskell: Dr. Haskell will start HRT for patients with a letter from a mental health professional. Haskell also continues HRT for patients who have been on HRT for a while, on an informed consent basis. Contact Dr. Haskell at 256-429-4915 or click here.
• Dr. Vytautas Pukis: Dr. Pukis will start HRT for patients with a letter from a mental health professional. Patients must be 21 years and over. Pukis also offers general practice services. Visit here or call 256-883-0107 for more.

Mental Health

• Healing Sounds Music Therapy: Located at 1428 Weatherly Road, Suite 102 in Huntsville. Offers music therapy services aimed at evoking nonverbal emotional expression, a reduction in stress and anxiety, and overall improvement both physically and mentally. For more on their services, click here.
• Silver Linings Clinic: Located at 185 Chateau Drive in Huntsville. Offers a variety of mental and behavioral health services in a team-based environment. For more, click here.
• UAH Counseling Center: The counseling center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) offers a variety of services to students enrolled in at least three credit hours. Among those services is a group specifically for young Black men who identify as gay or bisexual. Call 256-824-6203 for more information.

Non-Profit Organizations

• Shoals Diversity Center: Located at 112 S. Pine Street, Suite 101 in Florence. This non-profit organization is North Alabama’s only LGBTQ+ center. They offer the following services at their facility:
  • Queer Youth Support Group: 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. every other Tuesday
  • Gender Non-Conforming Support Group: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every other Wednesday
  • Transgender Support Group: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every other Thursday
  • LGBTQ+ AA meetings: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. every other Saturday

Events

• Huntsville’s Only Drag Brunch: Located in the Speakeasy at Straight to Ale. This monthly event features drag queens from across the Rocket City and sometimes even welcomes special guests from outside the area! Find the latest events for Huntsville’s Only Drag Brunch here.
• Out Loud HSV: Located at venues across the Rocket City. This spoken word community hosts regular events, open mics, and poetry slams in an effort to provide a platform for writers and poets of all walks of life. Learn more about their upcoming events here.
• The Ruby Slipper: Located at the old Art Room in Straight to Ale. This pop-up gay bar offers a variety of events and is focused on becoming a full-time bar for the local LGBTQ+ community. Learn more here.
• Pride Game Night: Located at Regale Cupcakery, and co-hosted by the bakery and Rocket City Pride, the game night will be an inclusive environment filled with food and fun. You can learn more here.
• Pride Skate Night: Hosted by Rocket City Pride and the Rocket City Roller Derby League, Rainbow Skate Night will be held at Roller Time for the young and young-at-heart to hang out. You find the information here.

Faith

• Grateful Life Community Church of Huntsville: Located at 207 Oakwood Avenue NW in Huntsville. This church says everyone is welcome and congregation members come from all walks of life. To see their services schedule, click here.
• Spirit of the Cross: Located at 3015 Sparkman Drive NW in Huntsville. The church lists themselves as having an “affirming ministry to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community,” and stressed they are a church for everyone. Learn more here.
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville (UUCH): Located at 3921 Broadmor Road NW in Huntsville. This church describes itself as “Huntsville’s Liberal Religious Voice.” Learn more about them here.

Social Groups

• Athens Pride Coalition: Located in Limestone County, this community aims to be a safe and supportive space for all local LGBTQ+ people! Learn more about them here.
• Huntsville Prime Timers: Meetings on the second Saturday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Spirit of the Cross Church at 3015 Sparkman Drive NW in Huntsville. The group is a social club for gay and bisexual men at least 40 years old, and is a member of the Prime Timers Worldwide organization. Learn more here.
• NEXUS Huntsville Softball League: Formed in 2021 as the city’s first LGBTQ+ softball league, NEXUS Huntsville Softball League boasts six teams and almost 100 players after its second season! The league is primarily for those in the LGBTQ+ community, but all are welcome to play! For more information on the league, click here or visit their Facebook page.
• Red Ribbon Bowling Association: This association hosts regular bowling tournaments aimed at supporting the local LGBTQ+ community. 10% of all prize fund proceeds benefit Thrive Alabama. Learn about their latest gatherings here.
• Rocket City Gaymers: This group aims at providing a safe space for anyone who loves video games and supports the LGBTQ+ community in North Alabama. See the latest from the group here.
• Rocket City Pride: This non-profit organization aims at engaging the local LGBTQ+ community and creates a space for them through events and social gatherings. See their upcoming events here.
• Trans North Alabama: This 18+ Discord server is a safe space for transgender, non-binary, and gender questioning adults from Alabama and its surrounding areas. Click here to join the server.
• TransFamily Support Services: This group aims at connecting transgender people with a strong, educated support system that will improve the community and more importantly, save lives. See how to contact them here.
• UNA LGBTQ+ Resources: The Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion provides a wide variety of resources and events on campus aimed at empowering LGBTQ+ voices on campus and creating welcoming campus environments. See the full list of resources from UNA here.

Media

• Gay Huntsville: This local outlet shares LGBTQ+ content central to the North Alabama area, along with LGBTQ+ events and stories. See their Facebook page here.

Local Advocates

• Human Rights Campaign of Alabama: The state chapter of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) works for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality in the State of Alabama. See their latest work here.
• PFLAG Huntsville: The local chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) provides peer support, education, and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community in North Alabama. Learn more about their meetups and organization here.

The resources and listed organizations come from the following websites: Rocket City Rainbow Pages, the Shoals Diversity Center, the University of North Alabama, the Athens Pride Coalition, and EveryoneIsGay.com.

If we missed any LGBTQ+ resources in North Alabama, submit those to news@whnt.com!