Welcoming Groups

We join groups for a lot of reasons: to share the activities we love | to find support and empowerment | to network and socialize | to serve our community. With so many welcoming groups to choose from, why wait? Join one today.

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Group	Description / Meetings	Links
Hendersonville‘ Gay Men’s Happy Hour	Gay singles and couples are welcome to a Fort Lauderdale-style happy hour in downtown Hendersonville. \| City: Hendersonville \| Meetings: Most meetings are held on a Monday evening once per month. Happy hour is from 5 PM – 7 PM, hors d'oeuvres and dinner also available. Exact date and location…	Web
Hiawassee/Lake Chatuge LGBT (brother and sisterhood)	Most of us have relocated up to these beautiful mountains from other locations and find ourselves wanting “like” friends and associates. This “new” group will focus on social gatherings, wine and craft beer tasting, grilling-cooking, holiday involvement, boating, campfires, mountain biking, hiking, game night, gardening parties ... \| City: Hiawassee \| Meetings: Register at https://www.meetup.com/Hiawassee-Lake-Chatuge-LGBT-brother-and-sisterhood/	Web
Hickory LGBTQAI+: Cause Charlotte is like an Hour Away	The purpose of this group is for a safe, friendly hang-out for individuals to meet. \| City: Hickory \| Meetings: For more information, register at the group’s meetup page: https://www.meetup.com/Hickory-LGBTQAI-Cause-Charlotte-is-like-an-Hour-Away/	Web
JUFA - Just Us For All	Just Us For All supports the full human and civil rights of all LGBTQ people. \| City: Asheville	Web Social eMail
Knoxville Transgender Group	Meetup with others that are trans/gender, non-comforming/nonbinary or under "the trans umbrella" \| City: Knoxville \| Meetings: For more information, register at the group’s meetup page: https://www.meetup.com/Knoxville-Transgender-Meetup/	Web Social
Ladies Loving Ladies: Fun for LGBTQ Women in their 20’s and	This is a social group devoted to building an inclusive, supportive and entertaining community of lesbian/gay, bisexual, transgender and queer women who love other women. \| City: Asheville \| Meetings: Log in to Meetup.com page and request access to the group.	Web
Lambda Al-Anon	Lambda Al-Anon - Open meeting for gays lesbians and teens \| City: Asheville \| Meetings: Meets every Friday at the Cathedral of All Souls 9 Swan Street Biltmore Village 8:00 pm
Lesbians in the Mountains (LIMS)	Very friendly Google group of women, over 21, that meets in real time and loves new people. \| City: Asheville \| Meetings: Regular monthly dinner gatherings every third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Cornerstone Restaurant located at 202 Tunnel Rd. in Asheville NC.	Web eMail
LGBT Elder Advocates	The LGBT Elder Advocates is a local grassroots organization founded to address the aging issues and concerns of the LGBT community through Land of The Sky Council. \| City: Asheville \| Meetings: LGBTQ Social Lunch- every second and fourth Thursday of the month at 12 PM at IHOP on Tunnel Rd. Email Yvonne at [email protected] for details or just show up! Monthly…	Web Social eMail
LGBTQ Book Club	Join host Alex Ruiz to discuss a wide-ranging selection of fiction and non-fiction focused on the LGBTQ community. \| City: Asheville \| Meetings: Meets every 1st Monday of the month in Malaprops 55 Haywood St. downtown at 7:00 PM in Regional Book Section
Group	Description / Meetings	Links

User's Guides - Welcoming Groups

Listing Standards

Contributors

One listing per group.

If you want to list separate workshops, we will be adding a catalog of on-demand workshops soon.

List groups only, please.

This listing is intended to help people find groups that they might want to join – whether for fun, support, or community involvement. Use our other directories for organizations, companies, and service providers.

Be transparent about any restrictions.

Groups do not have to be LGBTQ-focused, but must be LGBTQ-welcoming. We understand that a group may have certain restrictions that are in keeping with its mission (e.g., youth only; male or male-identified). Any such restrictions should be stated explicitly in the restrictions field.

Listings should reflect our local focus

We welcome listings from groups that operate in and around western North Carolina. This includes nearby communities in adjacent states.

We reserve the right to remove listings at any time and for any reason.

We will remove a listing if there is evidence that a speaker and/or their content is incompatible with our focus on community-building, community support, and constructive dialogue.

Users

Use the filter bar to narrow the list.

Use the filters to find groups that focus on what you are looking for.

Use the Feedback Button and Group’s email link to report issues and share suggestions.

Use the feedback button for general site issues and suggestions. If your feedback is a correction to a specific listing, use the group’s email link to communicate directly with them.

Cautions

We do not monitor or endorse groups.

We review new submissions against our listing standards but otherwise accept (or reject) them as presented. We may remove a listing if community feedback suggests that it is materially inaccurate or that the speaker’s content is fundamentally at odds with our focus on community-building.

We do not conduct detailed checks of organizations and their links.

Please be careful when following links outside this site or when reaching out to new entities.

We do not manage communications or registrations with groups.

Users who wish to contact a group should use the links provided by the group. If you wish to suggest minor edits, please contact the group using their links.

Everyone

Give us feedback! And, please be patient.

This is our pilot release. We will assemble user feedback to guide our second release in 2020 Q2.

We encourage and welcome donations.

We welcome everything from modest donations to immodest endowments. If active users and directory listers kick in a little something each year, we think that we can sustain and build this virtual center for the community.

Listing Standards

Relevant to our local LGBTQ and allied communities.

This includes western North Carolina and nearby communities in contiguous states (e.g., eastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, southwestern Virginia. It also includes groups based outside the region that have a local presence.

No offensive content

This includes language and visuals that are considered hateful, threatening or inappropriately graphic. Bear in mind that this site is accessible to minors.

No content that poses a threat to people’s privacy or to copyright laws.

Do not share names, photos or contact information without appropriate authorization or consent.

No embedded funding appeals and links.

Why? We don’t allow these because we don’t have the resources to monitor such links. You are welcome to link to pages on your site that include these.

Mental Health Providers

Eric Davis MS, LCPA, NCC, Counselor

Willow Wellness and Recovery, PC 9 All Souls Crescent Suite B, Asheville, North Carolina 28803 Phone: (828) 490-4137 | Website I am a firm believer in empowerment and self-determination. In the past, I have worked well with folks experiencing a range of issues, such as anxiety, depression, substance-use, sleep disturbances, relationship issues, and issues unique to the LGBT community.

Scott Thomas, Licensed Professional Counselor, MA, LPC, LCAS

Silver Lining Therapy 70 Woodfin Place STE 21, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 Phone: (828) 705-3084 | Website I believe humor can be a powerful tool for healing and seek to incorporate this into our time together. Unique to my practice is an approach that truly puts you at the center of the counseling experience, and I draw from a wide variety of techniques to help you see and experience real change in your life. To see if therapy might be a good fit, I offer free phone consultations.

James Harrison, PhD Psychologist

12 Westridge Dr , Asheville, North Carolina 28803 Phone: (828) 348-6300 | Website I enjoy helping people achieve physical and emotional intimacy whether they are young or old, straight or gay, in healthy, responsible, and mutually affirming ways. I also enjoy helping people improve their earning and manage their assets. And I like working with older people. I offer free phone consultations.

Judy Maris, Counselor, LPC, LCPC, MA, MS

Maris Psychotherapy 41 Clayton St, Suite 301, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 Phone: (828) 537-4489 | Website We can explore troublesome patterns that tend to repeat themselves in your life or look at new issues that have just come up. The important thing is for us to work together to get to the bottom of your difficulties and resolve them. I will assist you in becoming more aware of what you are feeling and thinking in the present moment. The untapped wisdom within you is a powerful healing force. Let me help you gain access to your full inner resources. I offer free phone consultations.

Elizabeth Heaney, Counselor, MA, LPC

166 E Chestnut Street, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 Phone: (520) 447-3319 | Website I work with individual adults with concerns like: family history issues, relationship concerns, life satisfaction issues (related to jobs, living situations or relationships), anxiety and depression. I’ve had a particular focus on working with couples, addressing every aspect of relationship challenges – relationship dissatisfaction/boredom, affairs, sexual/intimacy issues, etc. And I was a civilian counselor on military bases for several years, so I have a clear understanding of the unique pressures and challenges facing service members and families. I offer free phone consultations.

Siljoy Maurer

Holistic Perspectives P.O. Box 333, Enka, NC 2872 Phone: (828) 333-0103 | [email protected] or www.HolisticPerspectives.com For many years now I have been mentoring men and women from all walks of life. It continues to be my greatest joy to accompany someone from “just being ok” into thriving! As a Mentor & Healer I partner with my clients in creating authenticity, wellness and deep contentment, in whatever area of their lives they are seeking change. The combination of giving very practical, livable tools for direct “next steps” while “holding the big picture” and then manifesting that big picture often feels like this: a new client brings me their life or life situation in a jigsaw puzzle box, they lost the lid and forgot what the picture on it looked like. I am good at knowing that picture and then guiding my clients/mentees to put all the puzzle pieces together.