Pacific Center for Human Growth

Founded in 1973, Pacific Center for Human Growth is the oldest LGBTQ+ center in the Bay Area, the third oldest in the nation, and operates the only sliding scale mental health clinic for LGBTQ+ people and their families in Alameda County.

Utilizing nearly 200 volunteers and 11 staff members. Pacific Center provides direct services for Alameda County and the greater Bay Area LGBTQ+ communities. We currently serve over 3,000 people a year through our programs.

Mission

Pacific Center for Human Growth’s mission is to foster and enhance the well-being and self respect of LGBTQ youth, seniors, and adults through the delivery of LGBTQ competent mental health and wellness services, and to increase access to LGBTQ competent mental health services through the cultivation of a strong community of LGBTQ-proficient mental health care professionals.

Programs

• Licensed mental health services for LGBTQ+folks
• Accredited training for graduate-level student therapists and pre-licensed clinicians
• Mental health support groups for HIV+ people living in Alameda County
• A safe-space drop-in program for youth on Tuesdays and Fridays
• A transitional-age youth-led speaker’s bureau
• Free therapy groups and social support groups for LGBTQ+ adults 50+ 
• Over 20 volunteer-led peer support groups on a variety of issues, dedicated to serving a diversity of populations within the LGBTQ+ community
• Training and consultation services for Bay Area organizations, agencies, and companies, to enhance culturally responsive practices as it relates to LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues, which center queer and trans people of color

Our Commitment

The Pacific Center imagines a world where mental health and social justice are inextricably intertwined; a world where everyone has access to culturally responsive mental health services that contribute to the well-being of the individual, their community, and the wider society in which they live and work. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion as core values and principles that guide all aspects of our work. We strive to address the deeply entrenched practices, cultural norms and decision making structures that perpetuate inequities within the mental health system. We know that unraveling the systemic oppression of marginalized groups requires an undaunting commitment to the kind of sustained self-reflection that leads to action.  We know we have made mistakes in the past, and will continue to make mistakes on this journey, and we will continue to learn and adapt in ways that center and uplift the LGBTQ+ community at large, and specifically LGBTQ+ folx at the intersections of race, class, ability and gender nonconformity.