LGBTQ+ Support Organizations in St. Louis: Where to Find Community and Help
Revised October 1, 2026
Is there an LGBTQ+ helpline in St. Louis?
Yes. Call the St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline (SQSH) at 314-380-7774 for free, confidential, identity-affirming peer support, Friday through Monday, 1 to 7 p.m. For LGBTQ+ youth under 25 who need someone any hour, The Trevor Project answers 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678.
Keep reading ↓Maybe you just typed something into your phone that you have never said out loud. Maybe you’re a parent who wants to get this right for your kid and isn’t sure where to begin. Whoever you are, take a breath: you’re welcome here, exactly as you are. St. Louis has a real, rooted network of LGBTQ+ organizations, some of them running for forty years and more, built by neighbors who wanted no one to feel alone.
This is the friendly front door. We’ll point you to a local helpline, trans-specific help, support for families, affirming healthcare, and the groups that advocate and celebrate. Think of it as your map of who does what across the City, the County, and St. Charles, and how to reach each one. For everything beyond this list, we keep a wider guide to help and assistance across St. Louis. Being found is the first step. Let’s get you connected.
Is there an LGBTQ+ helpline in St. Louis?
Yes. Call the St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline (SQSH) at 314-380-7774 for free, confidential, identity-affirming peer support, Friday through Monday, 1 to 7 p.m. For LGBTQ+ youth under 25 who need someone any hour, The Trevor Project answers 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678.
SQSH is answered by and for the local LGBTQIA+ community, so the person on the line already understands St. Louis. They offer emotional support and resource referrals, and they keep a community resource guide going. There’s no public drop-in office, and that’s by design. The helpline and online scheduling are the front door.
St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline (SQSH)
Phone: 314-380-7774; toll-free 844-785-7774
Hours: Friday through Monday, 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central (closed Tuesday to Thursday)
Website: thesqsh.org (resource guide at sqshbook.com); phone and online only, no public office
The Trevor Project (24/7, for LGBTQ+ youth under 25)
Call: 1-866-488-7386, any hour of the day
Text: START to 678-678; TTY 1-866-803-3699
Website: thetrevorproject.org (online chat, plus the TrevorSpace peer community)
What if it’s the middle of the night and you’re nineteen? That’s exactly the gap Trevor fills. The local helpline covers Friday through Monday; Trevor covers every other hour for young people. Keep both numbers in your phone. And you never need a full crisis to call. A hard day is reason enough.
What LGBTQ+ organizations serve the St. Louis metro?
The metro holds a real mix of front-line help and long-running community groups, spread across the City, the County, and St. Charles. The simplest way to use them is to sort by what you need today: someone to talk to, trans-specific support, help for youth and families, affirming healthcare, or advocacy and celebration.
Here’s the quick map. Talk to someone now: SQSH and The Trevor Project. Trans community and daily essentials: Metro Trans Umbrella Group. Youth and families: The Trevor Project, TransParent, and PFLAG. Affirming healthcare, PrEP, and HIV care: Vivent Health. Advocacy and community: PROMO Missouri and Pride St. Louis. Each section below has the full details and contacts.
Where can transgender people find help in St. Louis?
Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG) is the region’s trans community center, open since 2013 to trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and intersex people and their allies. It offers far more than a meeting: a food pantry, a clothing closet, free bus passes, peer support groups, and name-change assistance, all under one welcoming roof.
MTUG is an 18-and-over community resource, so families of younger kids should look to PFLAG and TransParent below. For medical care, Vivent Health provides affirming primary and gender-related services. And for the step-by-step of a legal name or gender-marker change, we go deep in our guide to transgender resources in St. Louis.
Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG)
Address: 3133 Oregon Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118
Phone: 314-349-1402
Website: stlmetrotrans.org
Community hours, food pantry (pickup or delivery), Alix’s Closet clothing, free bus passes, peer support groups, and name-change help
A legal name or gender-marker change runs through the Missouri courts, and it’s more routine than it looks once you have a guide. MTUG helps with the paperwork itself. For the wider process and your rights, see our overview of LGBTQ+ legal help and advocacy in Missouri and the metro’s free and low-cost legal aid.
Where can LGBTQ+ youth and their families find support?
For a young person in crisis, The Trevor Project is the 24/7 lifeline: call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678, any hour, free and confidential, for ages 13 to 24. Its TrevorSpace platform is a moderated online community where LGBTQ+ teens meet peers who simply get it.
Parents and caregivers have their own places to land. TransParent, founded in St. Louis in 2011 by local parents, runs peer support for families of transgender and gender-expansive kids of any age. PFLAG Saint Louis, one of the country’s oldest chapters, offers family support meetings and a parent-to-parent helpline, so you can talk to a parent who has walked this road.
TransParent
For parents and caregivers of transgender and gender-expansive children
Contact: through the website form (no public office or posted phone)
Website: transparentusa.org
PFLAG Saint Louis
Phone: 314-821-3524; parent-to-parent helpline 314-872-0288
Email: pflagstl@gmail.com
Monthly support meetings for LGBTQ+ people, parents, families, and allies. Meeting day and location can change, so confirm the current schedule by phone or on the national site at pflag.org before you go.
West County and St. Charles families have a closer option in PFLAG St. Charles, reachable at 636-928-5639 or stcharlespflag@gmail.com. For safe spaces, peer groups, and family-acceptance resources aimed squarely at young people, see our fuller guide to LGBTQ+ youth support in St. Louis.
Is a young person carrying more than a single hard week? Affirming counseling helps, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Our guide to free and low-cost mental health and substance use help in St. Louis lists sliding-scale options across the metro.
Where can I find LGBTQ-affirming healthcare, PrEP, and HIV care?
Vivent Health, on Locust Street, is the metro’s dedicated home for LGBTQ+ and HIV-related care. Formerly St. Louis Effort for AIDS, it brings primary care, behavioral health, dental, an on-site pharmacy, PrEP, and free HIV, STI, and hepatitis C testing under one roof, along with case management and support services.
You do not need insurance to start, and the staff are used to helping people sort out coverage and cost. Whether you want to begin PrEP, get tested quietly, or simply find a doctor who gets you, this is a solid first call. For clinics, free testing sites, and PrEP access across the region, see our guide to LGBTQ health, free HIV testing, and PrEP in St. Louis.
Vivent Health — St. Louis
Address: 2653 Locust St, St. Louis, MO 63103
Phone: 314-645-6451
Website: viventhealth.org
HIV and primary care, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy, PrEP, free HIV/STI/hep-C testing, and case management
Who advocates for and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community here?
PROMO Missouri is the state’s LGBTQ+ public-policy and advocacy organization, working for more than 35 years on community education and grassroots organizing. Its focus areas span health and wellness, transgender justice, youth and education, and older LGBTQ+ adults. PROMO also keeps a statewide LGBTQ organization directory, which is handy when you need a resource we haven’t named here.
PROMO Missouri
Address: 2200 Gravois Ave, Ste 201, St. Louis, MO 63104
Phone: 314-862-4900
Email: promo@promomissouri.org
Website: promomissouri.org
On the celebration side, Pride St. Louis produces the region’s annual PrideFest and Grand Parade downtown each June, plus year-round events. It’s an all-volunteer nonprofit, which means there’s always a way to pitch in. Their motto says it plainly: educate, advocate, celebrate. Joy is part of survival, too.
Pride St. Louis, Inc.
Mailing: P.O. Box 15051, St. Louis, MO 63110 (all-volunteer, no public office)
Phone: 314-325-9794
Email: info@pridestl.org
Website: pridestl.org
How can you support these organizations?
Nearly every group here runs on volunteers and small donations, so a little goes a long way. Pride St. Louis needs hands for PrideFest. MTUG welcomes food-pantry and clothing-closet donations. SQSH and PROMO take gifts and volunteers year-round. If one of these organizations carried you through a hard stretch, giving back keeps the door open for the next neighbor.
You can also help just by sharing. Tell one friend which door to knock on. Being seen, and being found, is how a person survives a lonely season, and it’s how these small, mighty organizations keep going. Check each org’s website for current volunteer and donation options, and lean on the wider St. Louis help and assistance network whenever you need it. You belong here.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free LGBTQ+ crisis line for youth?
Yes. The Trevor Project offers free, confidential crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24, available 24 hours a day. Call 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678-678, or use TTY 1-866-803-3699. You can also chat online and join TrevorSpace, its moderated peer community, at thetrevorproject.org.
Where can parents of an LGBTQ or trans kid get support in St. Louis?
Two local groups focus on families. PFLAG Saint Louis runs support meetings and a parent-to-parent helpline at 314-872-0288, so you can talk with a parent who has been there. TransParent, founded in St. Louis, supports caregivers of transgender and gender-expansive children of any age at transparentusa.org.
Is there an LGBTQ youth group in St. Louis?
Yes. The Trevor Project runs TrevorSpace, a moderated online peer community for LGBTQ+ teens, and TransParent supports families of younger kids. For current in-person youth groups across the metro, ask SQSH at 314-380-7774 or check PROMO’s directory, and see our full guide to LGBTQ+ youth support in St. Louis.
How do I get help with a legal name or gender-marker change in St. Louis?
Metro Trans Umbrella Group offers name-change assistance at 3133 Oregon Ave, 314-349-1402. The process runs through the Missouri courts and is more routine than it looks with guidance. PROMO keeps helpful resources, and our guides to LGBTQ+ legal help and free legal aid walk through the steps.
Is there a food pantry or clothing help for trans people in St. Louis?
Yes. Metro Trans Umbrella Group runs a food pantry with pickup or delivery, a clothing closet called Alix’s Closet, and free bus passes, all at 3133 Oregon Ave, 314-349-1402. These serve the trans, nonbinary, and intersex community and are reachable through stlmetrotrans.org.
When is St. Louis PrideFest and how do I get involved or volunteer?
Pride St. Louis produces PrideFest and the Grand Parade downtown each June, plus year-round events. It’s an all-volunteer nonprofit, so volunteers and vendors are always welcome. Reach the team at 314-325-9794 or info@pridestl.org, and find current dates and sign-up details at pridestl.org.
Are there LGBTQ resources for older adults in St. Louis?
Yes. PROMO Missouri includes Older LGBTQ+ Adults among its focus areas and can point you toward local resources at 314-862-4900. For a friendly ear at any hour, the national SAGE LGBTQ+ Elder Hotline is free and staffed 24/7 at 877-360-5428.
What are some LGBTQ+ organizations in St. Louis?
St. Louis has many. For peer support there’s SQSH and The Trevor Project; for trans community, Metro Trans Umbrella Group; for families, TransParent and PFLAG; for affirming healthcare, Vivent Health; and for advocacy and celebration, PROMO Missouri and Pride St. Louis. Each section above lists full contact details.
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Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.