ALSO Youth

Founded in 1992, ALSO Youth is one of very few LGBTQ+ youth centers in Florida, a place where LGBTQ+ and allied youth can find connection, counseling, and community. 

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For more than 30 years, we’ve opened our doors to youth in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, offering free mental health counseling, college scholarships, fun weekly programs, summer camps, and an annual prom that reminds every young person they belong. In October 2024, our flagship Sarasota Center, home to countless memories, friendships, and milestones, was lost to the devastating effects of Hurricane Milton after more than two decades of serving the community.

But like so many of the youth we serve, ALSO Youth persevered. 

For ten months, all operations moved to our Manatee Center, which had just celebrated its two year anniversary in January 2025. Thanks to generous partnerships, we were able to host satellite programs in welcoming community spaces, ensuring our youth had safe places to gather no matter the storm.

And now, we’re home again. In September 2025, we proudly opened the doors to our new Sarasota Center and celebrated a joyful grand opening surrounded by the community that helped make it possible. This new space represents not just recovery but renewal, a fresh start built on the same foundation of love, inclusivity, and resilience that has carried us through every challenge.

Through it all, our mission hasn’t just continued, it has grown.

In 2025, we launched Adulthood 101, a series of hands on workshops that teach the real life skills every young person needs. From banking basics to cooking, civic engagement to health and wellness, each module breaks down essential knowledge into fun, easy to learn sessions. Youth can even earn incentives and rewards along the way, building confidence and independence as they prepare for the future.

Each month, ALSO Youth continues to provide funding for more than 90 sessions of free mental health counseling, available in person or virtually and without the need for insurance. This care extends not only to LGBTQ+ youth but also to their families, because we know healing and hope flourish together.

When the skies darken, ALSO Youth stands as the rainbow after the storm, a beacon of safety, support, and strength for LGBTQ+ youth across our region.

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Your generosity keeps our programs free, our counselors available, and our doors open to every young person who needs to know they are not alone. 

Thank you for standing with ALSO Youth!