You have three reliable routes. Search support services by ZIP code in HIV.gov's locator[1]. Ask your Ryan White case manager — psychosocial and peer support are covered service categories, so your clinic often runs or knows the local groups[2]. Or join a moderated online community such as the POZ Community Forums if meeting in person is not available or safe for you[3]. Start in our locator.
Route one: search your ZIP code
The same federal tool that finds clinics finds support. HIV.gov's locator returns mental health services, substance use services, and housing alongside HIV medical care when you enter a ZIP code[1]. Search the support categories rather than only "HIV care," and note that many groups are hosted inside larger agencies whose names say nothing about HIV.
If the nearest listing is an hour away, that is worth knowing too — it tells you to look harder at online options rather than assuming support does not exist for you. The same locator also maps housing and substance use services, so one search can cover more than one need[1].
Route two: ask your case manager (the shortcut most people skip)
Psychosocial Support Services and Non-Medical Case Management are named Ryan White service categories[2]. That is the important part: peer support is not a favor your clinic does on the side, it is something the program is funded to provide. A case manager can help you understand what services you can get[2], and in practice they usually know every group in the county, including the ones that never appear online.
You can ask narrowly. A group for women, for people over 50, for Spanish or Creole speakers, for long-term survivors, for people newly diagnosed — those distinctions matter, and asking for one does not make you difficult.
Route three: moderated online communities
POZ Community Forums is the long-running option: a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV plus friends, family, and caregivers, with roughly 38,000 members and more than 775,000 posts across some 66,000 topics. Topic areas include I Just Tested Poz, Living With HIV, Vivir con el VIH, Someone I Care About Has HIV, Long-Term Survivors, Positive Women, and Mental Health & HIV[3].
Positive Peers is the option built for younger people: a free, confidential app from The MetroHealth System for people 13–34 living with HIV in the U.S., combining health articles, a U=U tracker, medication reminders, a community forum, and private chat. Registration requires proof of HIV status or HIV care through a partner organization plus proof of age, the app is password protected and times out after inactivity, it is moderated by community members, admins, and health partners, and it is explicitly not a dating platform[4]. It grew out of MetroHealth's in-person support groups with HRSA funding, and a Kent State evaluation found members ages 13–24 were 4.2 times more likely to reach sustained viral suppression[4].
Peer-run spaces like the r/hivaids subreddit can help too, but treat them differently: they are unmoderated by clinicians, and medical claims there should be checked against your care team or the sources on this page.
Communities organized around who you are
Positive Women's Network – USA is a national membership body of cis and trans women and trans and gender-diverse people living with HIV, along with allies. It was founded in June 2008 by 28 leaders living with HIV and runs regional chapters, state leads, workgroups, and trainings — and participation is open regardless of whether you publicly disclose your HIV status, which matters if privacy is your first concern. Reach them at info@pwn-usa.org[5].
The Well Project is a resource by and for women living with HIV: a blog written by women living with HIV, a library of more than 120 fact sheets, and the SHE/HER/THEY outreach initiative[6]. One honest note about both organizations, and about advocacy groups like the Sero Project — they are membership, information, and advocacy networks. They are not crisis phone lines, so do not wait on a callback if you need help tonight.
If you need to talk to someone tonight
Call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It is free, confidential, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental health or substance use concerns[7]. You do not need a diagnosis, insurance, or a script to call.
For HIV questions specifically — testing, treatment, services — CDC-INFO at 1-800-232-4636 (1-800-CDC-INFO) is the federal information line[8]. Neither line is a substitute for emergency care: if you are in immediate danger, use local emergency services.
Support groups in South Florida
Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center in Lake Worth Beach has provided medical and non-medical HIV case management for more than 25 years, including mental health counseling and peer support, and serves more than 400 people a year across Palm Beach County. It also offers free rapid HIV testing, safer-sex kits, harm reduction supplies including Narcan and fentanyl test strips, and PrEP linkage, at 201 N. Dixie Hwy.[9] A CAN Community Health clinic operates in the same building, with walk-ins welcome and Spanish- and Creole-speaking staff, at (844) 370-6204[9].
Pridelines in Miami, a community center since 1982, runs Los Guerreros, a program for people living with HIV, plus HALO's Coffee & Conversations for adults 55 and over, Hermanos del Sol for Latine men in English and Spanish, sliding-scale trauma-informed therapy, faith and spirituality programming including religious trauma healing, and free groceries on third Saturdays. Find it at pridelines.center[10]. Note that Pridelines and Compass both moved domains — older bookmarks pointing to pridelines.org or compassglcc.com now redirect.
Related questions
Does my clinic have to help me find a support group?
Psychosocial support services and non-medical case management are named Ryan White service categories, so a Ryan White clinic is funded to connect you with peer and emotional support. Ask your case manager directly, and be specific about the kind of group you want.
What if there is no group near me, or I am not ready to be seen?
Moderated online communities are a real substitute, not a lesser one. The POZ Community Forums run around the clock for people with HIV and the people who care about them, and the Positive Peers app serves people 13 to 34 with a verified, password-protected community.
Are online HIV communities private?
It varies, so check before you post. Positive Peers verifies HIV status or care and proof of age at registration, is password protected, times out after inactivity, and is moderated by community members, admins, and health partners. Peer-run spaces such as the r/hivaids subreddit have no clinical moderation.
Is there a number I can call right now?
Yes. SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) is free, confidential, and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish. For HIV-specific information, CDC-INFO is 1-800-232-4636. If you are in immediate danger, use local emergency services.
Related from RiseUpToHIV
References & Sources
- HIV.gov — Locate an HIV Care Provider. The ZIP-code locator returns mental health services, substance use services, and housing alongside HIV medical care. ↩ ↩ ↩
- HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program — Available Care and Services. Psychosocial Support Services and Non-Medical Case Management as named service categories, and the case manager's role in explaining what services you can get. ↩ ↩ ↩
- POZ Community Forums. Round-the-clock discussion community for people with HIV, their friends, family, and caregivers, with member and post counts and the list of topic areas. ↩ ↩
- Positive Peers — About. Free confidential app from The MetroHealth System for people 13–34 living with HIV; registration verification, moderation, and the Kent State finding that members ages 13–24 were 4.2 times more likely to achieve sustained viral suppression. ↩ ↩
- Positive Women's Network – USA — About Us. National membership body founded in June 2008 by 28 leaders living with HIV, with regional chapters, state leads, workgroups, and participation open regardless of public disclosure. ↩
- The Well Project. Resource by and for women living with HIV, with a blog written by women living with HIV, 120-plus fact sheets, and the SHE/HER/THEY initiative. ↩
- SAMHSA — National Helpline. 1-800-662-HELP (4357): free, confidential, 24/7, 365 days a year, English and Spanish, for individuals and families facing mental health or substance use concerns. ↩
- CDC — Contact CDC-INFO. CDC's public information line, published as 800-232-4636. ↩
- Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center — HIV Services. More than 25 years of medical and non-medical HIV case management including mental health counseling and peer support, over 400 people served yearly in Palm Beach County, testing and harm reduction supplies, and the on-site CAN Community Health clinic. ↩ ↩
- Pridelines (Miami). Community center since 1982; Los Guerreros program for people living with HIV, HALO Coffee & Conversations for adults 55+, Hermanos del Sol, sliding-scale trauma-informed therapy, and food distribution. ↩
Community publications like POZ, Positively Aware, and TheBody inform framing and lived-experience context on RiseUpToHIV. Every clinical, epidemiological, or public-health claim above is anchored to a primary source.