The Pride Center at Equality Park

The Pride Center at Equality Park is a welcoming, inclusive home that celebrates, nurtures and empowers the LGBTQ+ communities of South Florida and their friends and neighbors. It began in 1993, when philanthropist Alan Schubert conceived a community center in Fort Lauderdale that could also support new and existing LGBTQ+ groups. In 2008 the organization bought a campus in the heart of Wilton Manors, and after renovating the Schubert Building it reopened in 2009 as The Pride Center at Equality Park. Today the campus offers 30,000 square feet of meeting and office space, where more than 50 monthly support groups meet and partner organizations, from faith congregations to the Gay Men's Chorus of South Florida, make their home.

Wellness at The Center is the Center's integrated health program. It offers free counseling and case management for people going through a difficult moment or waiting for a long-term provider, and a sexual health clinic in the Schubert Building providing PrEP, PEP and DoxyPEP, HIV testing and linkage to care, and STI screening and treatment. The clinic sees patients by appointment during scheduled clinic hours. Free at-home HIV test kits can be ordered online, and the wellness calendar adds yoga, meditation, energy healing, stress management and quit-tobacco support, most of it free.

Active Aging serves LGBTQ+ older adults from across South Florida. Its signature gathering, Coffee & Conversation, meets weekly for donuts, social support, service linkage and community news, and it is the largest weekly gathering of LGBTQ+ Active Agers in the nation. The program adds daily senior exercise classes, wellness workshops, healthy aging seminars, cultural events and one-on-one linkage services. Each fall the Active Aging Health Expo connects older adults with health, housing, legal, insurance and financial resources. The Residences at Equality Park brings affordable housing with supportive services for LGBTQ+ seniors to the same campus.

Women with Pride provides education, outreach and programming for LBTQ+ women, built on community events, health and wellness workshops, and the LBT Health Directory of culturally proficient providers. Recent programming includes film screenings, paint-and-sip nights and a team for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. Transgender and gender-diverse people who reach out are connected directly with TransInclusive Group, a partner located on the Equality Park campus. The David Bohnett Cyber Center offers free computer workstations and volunteer help for job searches, resumes and health information.

The Center also produces some of the city's biggest community events. Wicked Manors, created in 2007 with the City of Wilton Manors, turns Wilton Drive into a masked, costumed Halloween street festival each Halloween. The Hard Rock Drag Brunch kicks off Pride Month with drag performances and community honorees, and the Center fields a team for the Florida AIDS Walk on Fort Lauderdale beach.

There are many ways in. Stop by the campus during open hours, call the Center or request counseling online. Community memberships are available, including for students and Active Agers, the Founders Circle offers leadership giving, and volunteers help with event support, greeting, tours, fundraising, design and garden care. Meeting rooms and event spaces are also available to rent.