Naples Pride (The Naples Pride Center)

Naples Pride exists to unite and empower the LGBTQ+ community of Southwest Florida, and to support, educate and foster equality for all. It started in 2017 as a Pride with Purpose festival meant to raise funds and visibility, and it has grown into a year-round organization with a home of its own: The Naples Pride Center, which opened in 2020. The Center offers support services, education, social groups and resources to LGBTQ+ people, their families and the wider community.

Health care is one of the Center's most direct services. In partnership with Independent Medical Group, Naples Pride runs a free, confidential weekly walk-in clinic. Visitors can get STI prevention, testing and treatment, HIV and hepatitis B and C services, and PrEP. Appointments cannot be scheduled, no insurance is required and the only thing to bring is identification.

Mental health support comes through the Naples Pride Mental Health Collaborative, a group of affirming counselors and organizations working alongside the Center. People complete a short application, are matched with an LGBTQIA+ affirming provider for free or sliding-scale counseling, and continue to have Naples Pride's support once services begin. The Collaborative also holds free educational group sessions with a new topic each month, and it works to train mental health professionals on LGBTQ+ issues. For urgent needs, the Emergency Fund helps Collier County LGBTQ+ people in crisis with food, transportation, housing, medical care, employment or legal services.

The Center's calendar keeps people connected. The LGBTQ+ Youth Social brings youth ages 13 to 18 together once a month, and Kids Club welcomes children 12 and under with their parents once a month. Adults can attend the LGBTQ+ support group, a transgender and nonbinary support circle, LGBTQ Game Nite, monthly LGBTQ+ socials, Meditation Mondays, divination nights and workshops on topics such as navigating the coming out journey and talking with a friend about suicide. Books from the Naples Pride lending library can be borrowed at the Center, and teens can also reach Q Chat Space, a moderated online support community for LGBTQ+ youth.

Naples Pridefest remains the signature celebration. Held each June in Cambier Park in downtown Naples, the family-friendly festival brings live performers, a drag showcase on the main stage, food trucks, more than 100 vendors and nonprofits, and a Kid's Zone, with a pre-party, after party and pool party around it. Naples Pride has also gone to federal court, with the ACLU of Florida, to challenge the City of Naples' restrictions on drag at Pridefest and its security fees. Each winter, a black-tie gala at Naples Grande Beach Resort raises funds for the year's programs.

Businesses can join the Naples Pride Business Alliance for a listing in its directory of LGBTQ+ and allied businesses and entry to monthly networking mixers. Volunteers sign up online to help at the Center, Pridefest and the gala, and donations support programming, counseling and housing help. The Center is open during clinic hours, by appointment on other days, and during scheduled events.