Pacific Pride Foundation

Pacific Pride Foundation works to ensure a healthy, visible and thriving LGBTQ+ community in Santa Barbara County. Its advocacy and education efforts meet the ongoing and emerging needs of a diverse population, and its health and prevention programs work to stop the transmission of HIV. The foundation has offices in downtown Santa Barbara, on Anacapa Street, and in Santa Maria, and its volunteers reach people in Isla Vista and Lompoc as well.

The organization began in 1976 as a drug and alcohol counseling and referral center for gay men and lesbians. In 1984 it started the AIDS Counseling and Assistance Program, and in 1985 it began offering free, anonymous HIV testing as one of the first county test sites. It opened the Necessities of Life Project food pantry in 1991 and took the name Pacific Pride Foundation in 1994. Its first newsletter, The Bulletin, continues today as a monthly eBulletin.

Young people are at the center of the programs. The PROUD Youth Program welcomes LGBTQ+ and questioning youth ages 12 to 17, with allies always welcome and Spanish language access available. It includes a youth group, PROUD Youth of Color, a free, drop-in and confidential group, PROUD Prom, the (90) Days of Summer program and the Youth Connect Conference. Youth leaders have traveled to New York City to visit the Stonewall Inn and meet members of the Gay Liberation Front. Older adults gather in the PROUD Older Adult (50+) Group over lunch every other Thursday, often with guest speakers, and families and caregivers can schedule a consultation call with the Programs Team to talk through next steps.

Counseling at Pacific Pride offers affordable therapy to LGBTQ+ individuals, people living with HIV and their partners, families and friends. Sessions are available in English and Spanish, in person on Anacapa Street or online, on a sliding scale, and all intake appointments are free. Counselors are supervised graduate-level marriage and family therapy interns trained in LGBTQ+ mental health. A free transgender adult therapy group, which includes non-binary people, meets online on Tuesday evenings.

On the health side, the foundation offers free rapid HIV antibody tests at either office and at its syringe services sites. Its Syringe Services Program exchanges new syringes for used ones, provides harm reduction counseling and refers people to treatment, and through a partnership with the Department of Behavioral Wellness it distributes naloxone.

The community comes together at the Pacific Pride Festival, a free, all-ages Pride at the Beach celebration at Chase Palm Park that drew thousands in August 2026 under the theme OUT. PROUD. UNSTOPPABLE. Sunset at the Canary adds rooftop music and drag evenings at the Kimpton Canary Hotel from April through September, and events such as the Trans Fund Brunch and Royalty of Pride raise funds through the year.

To get help, call (805) 963-3636 or use the contact form. To get involved, sign up to volunteer at the festival, at syringe exchange events, in community outreach or with the youth and older adult groups, or become a Partner in Pride sustaining donor.