Find your people at one of our social groups.

Whether you’re looking to find other queer people with shared experiences, combat isolation and loneliness, or hope to improve your overall mental health, The Center’s social groups are safe and welcoming spaces to be in community with other LGBTQ+ people.

Meet over 150+ community members leading healthy and successful lives in NYC. Take the first step towards building lasting connections, join a social group today.

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Our Social Groups

Second & Fourth Thursday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This social support group is for LGBTQIA+ members on the APIDA umbrella, including East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islanders. Members are welcome to come together and share their diverse LGBTQIA+ experiences and lives while building visibility among the community.

Second & Fourth Tuesday of every month, 5-6:30 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This group is a safe space for members who identify under the Bi+ umbrella, including those who identify as bisexual, pansexual, queer, sexually fluid, or are questioning their sexuality. This group will support members’ explorations of their sexuality and identity in a peer environment.

Monday, 5-6:30 p.m. ET (In-person)
Wednesday, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (In-person)

This interactive program is focused on spontaneous conversational, writing, reading, and listening activities designed to deliver ESL classes to the immigrant LGBTQIA+ communities where community members can connect and be themselves.

First & Third Wednesday of every month, 7-8:30 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This open discussion group is for LGBTQIA+ members who are grieving, mourning, and/or navigating loss and life transitions where members can connect with others, share memories and experiences, and discuss coping strategies.

Thursday, 7:30-9 p.m. ET (Hybrid)

This support group allows members to seek community and social support, to openly discuss their experiences as trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and gender-expansive individuals providing an opportunity to share their ideas on various topics related to the self and the environments queer people find themselves in.

Second and Fourth Monday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This support group is a safe space for LGBTQIA+ immigrants from different ethnicities and cultures to create self-awareness and develop positive educational networks, and a sense of unity.

First & Third Tuesday of every month, 4:30-6 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This support space will provide an opportunity to members to process some of the underlying feelings in their coming out journeys; learn tools and skills for coming out; and share personal experiences that honor the process of coming out.

First and Third Wednesday of every month, 7:30-9 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This support group is for trans and gender nonconforming Black, Indigenous, and People of Color allowing TGNC BIPOC members to create a mutual support environment for explorations and engagement around identity, gender, race, and life experiences.

Monday, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (In-Person)

A peer-support group for transfeminine binary and non-binary members from all backgrounds in which they can share information on subjects relevant to their gender identity, medical care, and survival strategies- a space to make social connections and build a deeper understanding of the community.

Second and Fourth Thursday of every month, 7-8:30 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This support group seeks to improve the quality of life of LGBTQIA+ people living with HIV by offering an opportunity to meet and connect with others who are going through similar life experiences.

Last Monday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (In-Person)

This educational-based workshop will provide an opportunity for transmasculine, nonbinary, and binary members to learn about products and navigate services that can be complex to access and understand such as surgeries, HRT processes, dating, and social connections.

Monday, 6:30-8 p.m. ET (Virtual) except the last Monday of every month

This support group is a peerfacilitated space for transmasculine members. This group will provide a space to listen and support each other through their lives, form community, and share their experiences, challenges, questions, and vent.

Grupos de Apoyo en Español

Segundo y Cuarto Martes de cada mes, 6-7:30 p.m. ET (En Persona)

Este grupo de apoyo entre pares en español, contribuye a mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas LGBTQIA+ que viven con VIH, mediante intervenciones de prevención y promoción de la salud a través de las experiencias personales y aprendizaje.

Jueves, 6-7:30 p.m. ET (Híbrido)

Este grupo de discusión en Español está dirigido para todes las personas LGBTQIA+ Latinx en el que podrán compartir diferentes puntos de vista sobre los diversos temas que se viven en nuestra comunidad a través del debate, la reflexión y la motivación. 

Primer y tercer Martes de cada mes, 6-7:30 p.m. ET (En Persona)

Este grupo de apoyo es un espacio de reunión, información y solidaridad para personas LGBTQ+ migrantes en Español, donde se podrán intercambiar experiencias, estrechar lazos de solidaridad y conocer recursos que les permitan responder a los retos propios del proceso migratorio.

Meet Joanna

Queer people are deeply creative, fun, and resilient, so I love getting a chance to meet and build relationships with so many people in our community every day. Queer safety has always been crucial to our sense of well-being, and working at The Center allows me to be part of building and maintaining that queer safety.
Joanna McClintick

They/Them

Meet Our Facilitators

Felipe Alvear

He/Him/Él

Journeys

Felipe is a Colombian advocate who has collaborated and volunteered with different non-profit organizations focused on LGBTQIA+ immigrants, youth, and HIV/AIDS services. Although Felipe has an engineering background, in the last seven years he has found a great passion for social justice, equity, and social work leading him to pursue his MPH at CUNY-School of Public Health. Felipe is currently working at The LGBT Community Center providing leadership and management for a variety of groups for the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Librada González Fernández

She/Her/Ella

Stories

Librada is a trans researcher and archivist born in Cuba. In 2019, she created Archivo Cubanecuir, a collection dedicated to recovering and preserving historical documents about the Cuban LGBTI+ experiences. As an independent archivist, Librada strives to prioritize the most marginalized queer narratives that remain ignored by institutional archives. She is currently working on a book which will document the history of trans and gender non-conforming Cubans in burlesque and drag.

DJ Jiang

They/Them

APIDA Queer

DJ is a queer Chinese-American connecting queer people across the pan-Asian diaspora. They learn the most from their peers and dedicate their time doing things that build the world they want to live in. They have professional experience in therapy, suicide prevention, and Asian American advocacy, and they come from social work and intersectional mental health educational backgrounds. They grew up near Seattle, WA, and now call Queens home.

 

Victor Navas

He/Him/Él

English as a Second Language (ESL) Program

Victor was born in Venezuela, and has been a languages teacher for 12 years instructing English and Spanish as a second language. He has taught languages in North Carolina for 5 years, and currently works designing strategies to create cultural diversity activities to teach languages in a meaningful way. Victor is eager to welcome students into a classroom that fosters a caring environment for learning, where they can feel safe and also challenged to grow in knowledge of the language and the culture behind it.

Yonatan Matheus

Cualquier pronombre

Conexión Positiva
Expresión Latinx LGBTQIA+

Yonatan es un exiliado gay venezolano, defensor de derechos humanos y trabajador social que huyó de Venezuela en 2016 luego de sufrir persecución, y violencia por parte del crimen organizado y miembros de la dictadura venezolana. Yonatan es trabajador social y esta certificado como Peer Worker en servicios de VIH. Yonatan es fundador y directivo de América Diversa Inc, organización comprometida con la promoción de los Derechos Humanos, la educación y el empoderamiento de las personas LGBTQ+ latinas refugiadas, solicitantes de asilo e inmigrantes en la ciudad de Nueva York ofreciendo servicios que promueven la superación de las dificultades del proceso migratorio.

Tadeo Miller-Castro

He/They

B Plus

Tadeo is a queer, Black and of Chicano descent from Portland. He moved to NYC to pursue his degree in QTBIPOC Studies at NYU and is on the executive board of NYU’s student-led Black queer club, Brown Sugar Brilliance. He has formerly worked as an advisor for multiple queer organizations advocating and organizing for Black queer people. In his free time, he likes watching video essays on societal issues and culture, going to the gym, and being an active member of the QTBIPOC community. He is also a cat dad, a chai latte enthusiast, and is afraid of the Duolingo owl.

Wen Oviedo

Cualquier pronombre

Inmigrantes LGBTQIA+
& Expresión Latinx LGBTQIA+

Wen es trabajador social y activista LGBTQIA+, miembro fundador y directivo de América Diversa Inc, que desde 2020 trabaja para promover derechos LGBTQIA+ de personas Latinas refugiadas, solicitantes de asilo y migrantes en New York City. Wen tiene más de 12 años de experiencia con temas relacionados a la educación para la no discriminación por orientación sexual e identidad de género, campañas de prevención en el área de la salud sexual. Es miembro de la Directiva de Venezuela Diversa, e Integrante voluntario de Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid.

Annie Schneider

She/Her

Good Grief

Annie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is trained in palliative care social work, and specializes in oncology, end of life, bereavement, and LGBTQIA+ health. Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Annie now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She works as an inpatient social worker and is co-coordinator of the bereavement program at a cancer center in New York City. There, she is also part of the LGBTQIA+ Clinical Advisory Committee, and the Social Work Antiracism Committee. When not working Annie enjoys comedy, long walks, and learning about LGBTQIA+ history.

Harinauth “Sunny” Ramsingh

Sunny or He/Him

LGBTQIA+ Immigrants United

Harinauth, also known as Sunny, is a Guyanese activist who has been working on providing a safe and friendly space for LGBTQIA+ Immigrants. In the last few years, Sunny has worked as a health educator, increasing awareness within the LGBTQIA+ immigrant community to develop positive networks of support.

Ace Sutherland

They/Them

Rhythms

Ace is an activist in New York City. Their work is deeply rooted in liberating the BIPOC and gender-diverse communities through organizing, education, and empowerment. Ace is also a content creator who has worked with the New York City Council, New York State Department of Health, Northwell Health, GMHC, Adidas, Color of Change, and more to center the experiences of the queer and trans communities. Ace holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Buffalo State in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany. Ace loves to spend time playing Fortnite, eating seafood, and laughing.

Riqi Velez

He/They

Thriving Together

Riqi was born in Queens and raised in the moderate southern mini metropolis of Charlotte, NC. After studying Musical Theatre, they joined a couple of short tours with the show Grease, as well has played many nightclubs both as a boy band member (BN2 and Platnym) and later as a solo artist. Riqi is a member of the uber social justice promoting Middle Collegiate Church, a multicultural, multi-ethnic, inter-generational movement of Spirit and justice, powered by Revolutionary Love. Since the beginning days of Pandemia, Riqi has dedicated themselves to educate and elevate the communities of LGBTQIA + youth and elders, people living with HIV, BIPOC, and our new migrant neighbors from below “the border”. Currently he works at MetroPlusHealth as Viral Suppresor Navigator.