The Center Orlando

Community & Support Groups, Gender-Affirming Care, HIV/AIDS Support, Know Your Rights, and Mental Health & Therapy
Visit Website Call 407-228-8272

The Center Orlando, officially LGBT+ Center Orlando, is one of the oldest and most comprehensive LGBTQ+ community centers in Florida. Founded in 1978 as a safe gathering space for the gay community, The Center has grown into a full-service nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ people across Central Florida through health services, mental health counseling, transgender support, legal and immigration assistance, senior programming, harm reduction, and community connection.

Health services include free HIV and STI testing, outreach programs, Narcan distribution and harm reduction education, and mental health counseling. The Center operates two Orlando locations: a testing center at 942 N. Mills Ave, open Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and weekends 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and a second location at 1200 Hillcrest Street for Pride Pantry, support groups, and meetings.

For transgender and nonbinary people, The Center offers a dedicated range of services that few organizations match. These include the Central Florida Transgender Peer Network, a weekly peer-led support group for adults across the trans spectrum; a Child Gender Identity and Caregiver Support Group for trans and gender-nonconforming children ages 5 to 13 and their families; the Affirmation Station, which distributes foundational garments and affirming care items; and a Transgender Advocacy Fund that provides financial assistance for gender marker and name changes, gender-affirming care, and gender-affirming surgery.

Additional services include the OURS program, which supports survivors of the Pulse tragedy and the broader community, a food pantry called Pride Pantry open Mondays and Fridays, a Cyber Center for technology access, legal and immigration support, scholarships, and a robust volunteer program. The Center also maintains a public resource guide and a hotlines directory for people in need of immediate support.

After the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, President Obama called The Center “Ground Zero for community healing.” That legacy of showing up for this community, through crisis and in everyday life, is still the heart of what this organization does.