Most of western North Carolina's LGBTQ resources are based in Asheville, so this list is as much for someone driving in from Waynesville or Marion as for someone in town. For each organization: what it does, when things happen, and how you get in the door. Schedules and contact details come from each organization's own site, checked in October 2026. Schedules change, so confirm before you go.

Start here

  • You're in crisis right now: call or text 988, or call Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860. More numbers at the bottom.
  • You're trans, nonbinary or questioning your gender: Tranzmission's peer support groups. Most meet online, and there's a screening before your first one.
  • You're under 25: Youth OUTright's drop-in hours.
  • You're a parent, partner or friend trying to understand someone: PFLAG Asheville's monthly CONNECT Groups, or Tranzmission's Loving Kindness group if the person is trans or nonbinary.
  • You need HIV or STI testing: WNCAP on Fairview Road.
  • You need a trans-affirming doctor: the Trans in the South guide from Campaign for Southern Equality.
  • You're 55 or older: Blue Ridge Pride's Generation Plus.

Support groups and community

Tranzmission Their stated mission is to make life "happier, healthier, and safer" for transgender, nonbinary, intersex and gender diverse people. If you searched for it by name, here is what they actually run:

  • Support groups. Peer-led, 90 minutes, confidential. New people go through a screening before their first group; start from the Get Involved page, and once you're screened they add you to that group's email list. As of October 2026:
    • Transformers, the general group for anyone trans, nonbinary or questioning: online the 2nd Wednesday at 6:30pm, in person the 4th Saturday at 2:30pm.
    • Transfemme (1st Wednesday), Transmasc (3rd Wednesday) and Nonbinary (4th Wednesday), all online at 6:30pm.
    • Loving Kindness, for partners, family and close friends of trans and nonbinary people: online the 1st Monday at 6:30pm.
    • Q/T Housing Solutions, a mutual aid group for queer and trans people facing housing insecurity in Asheville and surrounding areas: in person the 4th Monday, 5 to 6:30pm.
  • Name and gender change help. They have been doing this since 2014: one-on-one meetings to get the paperwork right, North Carolina only, with a low-income fee waiver form. Email name@tranzmission.org.
  • Food pantry. Weekly, and open to anyone regardless of identity once a week. No ID, no income questions. They keep the location and times as private as possible, so email food@tranzmission.org for both.
  • Clothing closet and trainings, listed on their site.

PFLAG Asheville Monthly CONNECT Groups open to parents, families, friends, allies and LGBTQ+ people themselves. Dates and location are not on their homepage; you register through the events page. A parent who just found out can talk it through with other parents there instead of leaning on you for every answer. If you're the one doing the telling, I wrote about coming out to your parents as an adult.

Blue Ridge Pride Best known for the fall festival downtown. The more useful thing year-round is their Virtual Pride Center, a WNC resource hub covering health, mental health, basic needs, Helene recovery, seniors, and youth and family, plus a Welcoming Spaces directory. Generation Plus runs programming and events for LGBTQ+ people 55 and older.

Youth

Youth OUTright For LGBTQ+ youth ages 11 to 24 across western North Carolina. Drop-in at their Asheville youth center Mondays and Thursdays, 3 to 6pm. Activities and education on Wednesdays, 3 to 6pm. Constellations is their program for queer and trans Black, Indigenous and people of color (QTBIPOC). The youth center's address is not public: you get it by email when you RSVP, so do that before you drive over.

Health care

WNCAP (Western North Carolina AIDS Project) HIV and STD testing, HIV case management, harm reduction and pharmacy services. 554 Fairview Road, Asheville. (828) 252-7489, weekdays 9 to 5.

Trans in the South guide Campaign for Southern Equality keeps a directory of nearly 400 health providers across the South that its team has confirmed as trans-friendly and trans-competent. Start here before you sit through an intake with a doctor who has never treated a trans patient.

Start here before you sit through an intake with a doctor who has never treated a trans patient.

Mental health. Blue Ridge Pride's Quilt Care program, listed in the Virtual Pride Center, says you may qualify for free therapy sessions with affirming therapists in WNC. Their site does not say who qualifies, so ask. Resilient Mind Counseling has an Asheville office on Clayton Street and lists LGBTQIA+ affirmative therapy. Psychology Today and TherapyDen both let you filter for LGBTQ+ affirming therapists in the area.

Legal and advocacy

Campaign for Southern Equality Asheville-based, working on LGBTQ+ rights across the South. Their Trans Youth Emergency Project helps families of trans kids get care out of state when it is banned where they live, including travel grants. Their LGBTQ+ Resource & Resilience Center at 20 Oak St. downtown is winding down: CSE announced its final dates in August 2026, and the last two listed are October 29 and December 17. Phone 828.242.1559.

ACLU of North Carolina State-level legal advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. Go here if you're facing housing, employment or healthcare discrimination and need to know your rights. They work on cases and policy, so don't expect a support group.

Crisis lines

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988.
  • Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860. Run by and for trans people.
  • Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678. For LGBTQ+ young people.
  • Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.

The resources page on this site has the RHA crisis walk-in in Asheville, plus national resources for religious trauma, coming out and life transitions.

One-on-one coaching

None of these organizations offer one-on-one coaching. That's what I do. I'm a coach, not a therapist. Queer coaching through Feral Self is in person in Asheville or walk-and-talk sessions in WNC, for people of any gender working through coming out, identity, religious trauma, a relationship changing shape, or a big life change.

Common questions

Is Asheville a good place to be LGBTQ+?

For the South, yes. The queer community here is visible, and several of these groups have been at it for years: Tranzmission has run its name change project since 2014. North Carolina is a different story at the state level, and its politics on LGBTQ+ rights are more complicated than the city's.

I live outside Asheville. Is any of this for me?

Yes. Blue Ridge Pride, Youth OUTright and Tranzmission all serve western North Carolina, and most of Tranzmission's support groups are online. Youth OUTright's center and WNCAP's office are in Asheville.

Where do I start if I don't know what I need?

Start with a group if you want company without commitment. See a therapist if you're in acute distress, need trauma treatment, or have a mental health condition that needs clinical care. Book coaching if you know what you want to change and want help changing it. If you can't tell which, the free intro call at Feral Self is a reasonable place to figure it out. I'll tell you straight if I think you need something different.