Have a Happier Pride Month – 7 Places the LGBTQ+ Community Can Get Mental Health Help in and Around Suffolk, Virginia

June is Pride Month, a celebration that began in 1970 as a way to honor the events of the Stonewall Uprising that happened a year earlier. Although the movement didn’t begin at Stonewall, the uprising marked a turning point in the efforts to “build the community that would fuel the growth of the gay rights movement.” Today, there are Pride celebrations nationwide that include parades, concerts, festivals, and more.

Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community

Although the LGBTQ+ community has won many rights over the years, we still have farther to go when it comes to creating true equity. 

There are many reasons a lot of LGBTQ+ people struggle with their mental health. Some of the challenges and threats they face include:

• Homophobia and transphobia
• Discrimination – e.g., when trying to get a job or buy a house
• Harassment
• Identity struggles
• Strained family relationships or not being accepted by family
• Violence – trans people are especially at risk for violence. As of April, there have been 11 hate-motivated murders of trans or nonbinary people in the U.S. in 2023 (that we know of)

Why Pride Month Is So Important

With the position of LGBTQ+ people still so precarious in our country, Pride Month is still very important. It helps to normalize being LGBTQ+ and gives members of the community a safe place to be themselves and to be with others who understand. 

Normalization and acceptance are especially important for LGBTQ+ youth, who are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. LGBTQ+ youth who have at least one accepting adult in their life are 40% less likely to attempt suicide. This is why Pride Month, and all organizations and events that support and connect the LGBTQ+ community, are so important.

Mental Health Help for the LGBTQ+ Community in and Around Suffolk, VA

The following organizations can help LGBTQ+ individuals looking for affordable mental health support and resources. While some are only available in the Virginia area, a few are nationwide.

1. Western Tidewater Community Services Board

We support our LGBTQ+ community all year long, not just during Pride Month. We offer a range of services for adults and youth, including individual counseling, family counseling, the School Intervention Program (SCIP), mentoring services, our after-school prevention program, and more. We do everything we can to ensure that our LGBTQ+ clients always receive compassionate and culturally competent care from our excellent staff.

We want all of our community members to receive the care they deserve, at a price they can afford. We offer several payment options, including private pay, insurance and more. Can’t afford therapy? Don’t worry – you’ll never be turned away at WTCSB. 

Schedule an appointment for same-day access online or by calling us at 757-758-5106.

2. The Region Five Crisis Line

Need to talk to someone right now? While you’re waiting for your appointment at WTCSB, you can call the Region Five Crisis Line. If you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, substance use or another mental health emergency, you can call the Crisis Line to talk to someone right away. A trained counselor will listen and, if you want, connect you with local resources.

If you’re in the Greater Tidewater Hampton Roads Area of Virginia, you can reach the Crisis Line fastest by dialing 757-656-7755. If you’re somewhere else (or if you don’t have a 757 area code), you can dial 988.

3. LGBT Life Center

The LGBT Life Center in Norfolk, Virginia offers counseling services, support groups, information and more for LGBTQ+ individuals.

To find out more about the mental health services, physical health and wellness services, events and resources they offer, visit the LGBT Life Center website.

4. Thriving Transmen of Color

The mission of Thriving Transmen of Color (TTMOC) is to improve the community by “eliminating stigmas and supplying tools for success.” They do this by providing referrals to mental health services and support groups, as well as other services, to individuals in and around the Newport News, Virginia area. 

A lot of the services provided are practical (like assistance with name changes, free binders for community members, mutual aid, and help applying for jobs or government-issued assistance), but can be monumental when it comes to the mental health of trans and nonbinary people.

While TTMOC leadership is 100% black and brown trans people, the organization supports anyone who needs help.

Find out more on the Thriving Transmen of Color website.

5. The Trevor Project

In 1998, the Trevor Helpline became the first nationwide 24-hour crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ+ youth. Now known as The Trevor Project, the organization still offers its around-the-clock helpline, as well as online resources and TrevorSpace, an “affirming, online community for LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13-24 years old.”

Find out more on The Trevor Project website.

6. Trans Lifeline

Trans Lifeline is a grassroots help hotline run by and for trans people. They offer “direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis.” Calls are completely anonymous and the hotline is available 24 hours a day.

Find out more on the Trans Lifeline website.

7. Imi.quide

Imi.guide offers guides built for and with LGBTQ+ teens. These guides can help LGBTQ+ youth to support their mental health and explore their identity. Users can choose a topic like stress, stigma, gender or queerness to access fun and interactive meditations and thought activities that can help with mental health, identity struggles and more. Imi also offers a resource library and the opportunity for users to sign up to receive mental health boosts via text message.

Find out more at Imi.guide.

We’re Committed To Serving Our LGBTQ+ Community Here in the Greater Tidewater Hampton Roads Area of Virginia

Western Tidewater CSB is a community of hope and caring, and we invite you to join us.

Find out why we’re the leading authority on mental health in Franklin, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, and Southampton County – make your appointment for same-day access today.

Let’s move forward, together.

Click infographic to enlarge.