Pridelines

Pridelines is Miami-Dade County's LGBTQ+ community center. It was founded in 1982 as Pridelines Youth Services, in the wake of Dade County's 1977 fight over its antidiscrimination ordinance, to give young people in Miami a place to be fully themselves. That first room has grown into a center serving every generation, from teenagers at their first youth hangout to long-term HIV survivors aging with dignity. Its home is in Miami Beach, with a second site at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami near Dadeland, and its programs reach from South Miami to North Miami to Opa-locka through partner congregations, health providers and community organizations.

The work is organized as the Six Circles of Care, built around body, mind, community and soul. Every circle is free or sliding scale, bilingual, led by trained and background-checked facilitators, and carries sexual health education and HIV prevention throughout.

The Youth and Young Adults circle serves ages 13 to 24. Hero Academy, co-created with UU Miami, builds confidence, organizing skills and the courage to lead in public. The Pride Lounge is a home for fandom, cosplay and gaming for adults 18 and up, with Florida Supercon as its flagship event each year. Adult Programming includes Hermanos del Sol, a bilingual brotherhood for Latine men; Reinas United Network (R.U.N.), a sisterhood for women; and the Lavender Lounge. Senior Programming gathers elders at the monthly Coffee & Conversations, connects them with SAGE and Jewish Community Services, and hosts Los Guerreros, a peer support community for people living with HIV. Each June, the HALO Awards honor local heroes of HIV and AIDS advocacy.

Health care sits at the core of the mission. Pridelines was the first community organization in Miami-Dade to receive Florida Department of Health approval to test for HIV, and today Thrivelines Health and Wellness offers free, confidential HIV testing, STI screening, PrEP and PEP navigation, and an accompanied handoff into treatment after a reactive result. Mobile outreach takes testing across Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, and Nehushtan Wellness brings screenings and health education into partner congregations. Thrivelines clinics in Miami Beach and South Miami extend that care with wellness visits, sexual health care and affordable medications. The Mental Health Hub offers depth-oriented, sliding-scale psychotherapy for teens and adults, and staff also connect callers with affirming providers.

The Faith and Spirituality circle, based at UU Miami, offers humanist spiritual exploration, religious trauma healing and community gatherings, along with RE:Connect, a free bimonthly virtual check-in. Each month ties the circles together with the free New Eden Jubilee Market of groceries and fresh food, the Lavender Lounge with theater, drag, live music and a free dinner, and QU33RDO, a showcase of alternative and counterculture artistry at Lincoln's Beard Brewing Co.

To get connected, call or email the center, and staff will make the introduction to the right program lead. Volunteers help build the New Eden market each month, Team Prideliners rides 165 miles from Orlando to St. Petersburg in the Joy Ride each November, and donations keep testing, groceries and programs free for everyone who walks through the door.