EPICenter is an emerging non-profit providing social/support groups. We are hoping to add more support groups and activities as the year progresses.

Providing 100 % virtual affirmative, empathetic, and ethical mental healthcare specifically for the LGB+, transgender & non-binary community.

Clinical services available: Letters of support for gender affirming care (surgery/hormones), gender affirming individual therapy, LGBTQ+ affirming therapy, therapy for health habit change, therapy for adjusting to and coping with chronic illness

Non-Clinical services available: LGBTQ+ health education & consultation

The Evergreen Initiative, LLC is queer & trans led & run

"The Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality offers a variety of programs, including an undergraduate major, undergraduate minors and certificates, graduate certificates, general education courses, and interdisciplinary courses. Check out all of undergraduate and graduate programs. Also, learn more about how a background in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies will benefit you both personally and professionally."

"LGBTQ immigrants in the United States encounter unique obstacles to securing protection and safety, particularly when caught up in the immigration enforcement and detention systems. One in four substantiated incidents of sexual abuse in immigration detention involved a transgender individual over a four-year period. Further, LGBTQ immigrants pursuing claims to protection that are related to their sexual orientation or gender identity often face discriminatory attitudes in the immigration court system that lead to denials of immigration protection and longer periods of detention.

NIJC's LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative provides legal services to LGBTQ immigrants across the country and engages in impact litigation targeting systemic flaws in the immigration system including the discriminatory adjudication of sexual-orientation and gender identity based claims and errors in the interpretation of refugee and asylum law."

Farmworker & Landscaper Advocacy Project
Proyecto de Ayuda para Trabajadores del Campo y Jardineros

"Our History and Mission

The Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project – Proyecto de Ayuda para Trabajadores del Campo y Jardineros – FLAP was incorporated February 8, 1999 in response to a 1996 Congressional ruling that prohibited federally funded legal services programs from filing class actions for, and representing many of low-wage workers. This prohibition includes H-2A agricultural workers, H-2B forestry workers, and victims of battery, extreme cruelty, sexual assault, or human trafficking. Justice and legal representation, that for decades inspired millions of oppressed people to come to America, were denied to hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers, most of them Latines. While FLAP serves all classifications of workers, it focuses on very low-wage laborers and their households."

FLAP’s mission is to improve working conditions and opportunities for low-income workers and their households in the cannery, farming, greenhouse, landscaping, meat, nursery, packinghouse, poultry, restaurants, and snow plowing industries.

The organization carries out its mission through advocacy, community outreach and education, litigation, community legal education, information and referrals, partnering with other organizations to fight human labor trafficking, preventing family separations by helping immigrants secure dual citizenship for their children and facilitating access to cash transfers to very low-income populations. FLAP provides these services free of charge and without regard to immigration status.”



"FLAP Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is already in the DNA of FLAP’s work and is updated at the first Board of Directors meeting of every year. FLAP’s constituency is comprised 100% of low-income immigrant workers and their families. The organization exists because of the injustices done in the workplace to low-income immigrant workers due to race and country of origin. Everything FLAP does promotes racial justice, diversity, inclusion, and equity.

FLAP is an equal opportunity employer and would be even if it were not required by law. All qualified job applicants receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, marital status, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and/or political affiliation. The same is true with FLAP’s clients. The organization does its best to accommodate those with physical and/or intellectual disabilities who attend its workshops and programs, and makes certain that appropriate information and resources are provided in their native language. For those who cannot read, FLAP explains what the information is about. Individuals with a workplace discrimination case related to their sexual orientation are linked to pro bono representation with relevant legal expertise."


Evanston Office:
1740 Ridge Ave
#117
Evanston, IL 60201

"Logan County Pride is a non-profit organization supporting the LGBTQIA+ people of Logan County, Illinois, by promoting equality, diversity and inclusion through educational, social and health related initiatives."

"Established in 1998, Youth Outlook is the first and longest-running social service agency in Illinois solely dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth. We work in seven counties in northern Illinois, offering drop-in centers for youth, caregiver, and parent support, plus community education and professional development."

Support programs include Drop-In Centers, Caregiver Support Groups, Community Education & Professional Development, Health & Wellness Navigation.

*

"Our Drop-In Centers meet weekly and are a social setting for youth to meet other LGBTQ+ young people and talk about various topics that really matter to them, providing a place for LGBTQ+ youth to feel safe, supported, and celebrated. Trained staff and volunteers lead all programming, which includes identity and self-esteem, physical and mental health, political awareness, healthy relationships, and other topics requested by attendees. *Most groups welcome youth ages 12-20, exceptions are noted by each location."

Drop-in centers currently offered in DeKalb, Peoria, Naperville, Joliet/Lockport, Ottawa, Sterling, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Bolingbrook, Palatine, and virtually.

"The National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (The National SOGIE Center), provides a centralized site for accessing resources on providing culturally responsive care to children, youth, young adults with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) and their families across systems, including child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health (including school mental health), substance use systems, and housing and homelessness."
"The work of the SOGIE Center is grounded by the following principles:

LGBTQ+ young people must be supported to thrive with their family in their communities.
Young people and their families are the experts in their lives, strengths, and needs and must be centered in all of our work.
*Families are the best supports for raising strong, healthy, and happy children, youth, and youth adults.
Systems are not replacements for families or communities.
An intersectional analysis that examines power and identity must be applied to all our work. SOGIE must be understood as interconnected with race, ethnicity, class, ability or immigration status, which together impacts the experiences, opportunities, and health status of LGBTQ+ young people and their families.
People deserve access to services that are proven to work.
Communities, families, advocates, and allies should hold systems accountable for better policies and practices to ensure that LGBTQ+ youth and their families are supported.
In order to create equitable care for LGBTQ+ youth, we work to acknowledge the history of anti-Black racism and the genocide and forced assimilation of Native peoples that has impacted our laws, policies, and practices even to this day and we must recognize and work to dismantle the harm this causes to all youth, specifically LGBTQ+ youth.
*Families include families of origin and families of choice."

Website includes a List of Scholarships for LGBTQ Students; info on How to Apply for Scholarships as an LGBTQ Student; FAQs; info on How to Choose an LGBTQ-Friendly College; information about Title IX (federal non-discrimination law), as well as non-discrimination laws by state. There is also information about Study.com's LGBTQ+ scholarship!

"A vast hub of helpful information and resources for LGBTQIA+ individuals looking for positive mental health and therapy support."

From the website:
"Finding an affirming, empathetic therapist can be life changing. Taking these steps could make the process easier for you:
- Clarify your goals.
- Identify your deal breakers and must-haves.
- Gather referrals from people you trust.
- Leverage LGBTQIA+ organizations in your search.
- Consider online therapy and support groups.
- Ask all the questions.
- Reach out to a helpline if you’re in immediate need.
- And last — but definitely not least — keep searching until you find a therapist who meets your needs. Your well-being is worth the effort, intuition, and time you’ll invest."