Pride Link

This Give OUT Day, 30% of the money we raise will go directly to the Trans Women of Color Collective, a national organization that promotes access to health, leadership, and healing for trans women of color. The rest of the money will support our COVID-19 Relief Fund, offering direct cash transfers to Upstate, SC LGBTQ+ people financially affected by COVID-19, and to support our financial assistance fund for trans and nonbinary people to begin hormone therapy.

Who We Are

Pride Link is a nonprofit working to improve the quality of life for all LGBTQ+ people in Upstate, South Carolina. We offer health and wellness programs, social support, and connection to critical resources while improving LGBTQ+ cultural competence of providers and community partners.  

Programs

With the global pandemic hit that everyone is experiencing, we quickly shifted all our programming to an online platform and started doing even more to provide support and access to health and wellness resources to the LGBTQ+ community. 

COVID-19 Relief Fund

Many LGBTQ+ people in Upstate, SC were already living paycheck to paycheck before Coronavirus hit. This crisis only exacerbated the financial strain for them and so many more. This relief fund provides direct cash transfers into the hands of Upstate, SC queer and trans people through a low-barrier application process - often within just 2 days of applying for assistance. 

Hormone Therapy Assistance Fund

Trans and nonbinary people in Upstate, SC face numerous obstacles accessing affirming healthcare and hormone therapy. Our partner, QMed, offers telehealth hormone therapy services for trans people across the Southeast and we've teamed up to make access even easier by providing financial assistance to trans people who want to begin hormone therapy and have been unable to do so because of barriers. 

Pride Link Online

Social distancing doesn't have to mean social isolation, but LGBTQ+ Southerners unfortunately know isolation all too well. We quickly launched weekly webinars and Zoom meetings to offer social support, mental health support and resources, skill-building workshops, and connection to critical resources. 

Mobile Community Center (adjusted to offer virtually)

Modeled after mobile health clinics to address community health disparities, the mobile community center brings social support, culturally competent services, and community resources to LGBTQ+ across ten Upstate, SC counties. We offer medical and mental health screenings, HIV testing, name change assistance, social support, and connection to community resources. 

LGBTQ+ Youth Group (now offered virtually)

We've heard too many stories of our queer and trans youth stuck at home in unsupportive families. We now offer our youth group online where we connect, offer mental health support and coping tools, leadership development, and a space to just be. We also facilitate connection between groups through a chat app for youth.