Free, confidential LGBTQIA+ peer support, information, online chat, coming-out support, and a large local resource directory.
Audience
LGBTQIA+ people, questioning people, family members, and allies of different ages
Coverage
Calls across the United States and Canada; online chat can be used more broadly
Availability
Main hotline Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. PT / 2-11 p.m. ET; Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. PT / noon-5 p.m. ET
Service type
LGBTQIA+ peer hotlines, web chat, and local-resource navigation
Overview
The LGBT National Help Center operates several hotlines and online programs staffed by trained LGBTQIA+ peer volunteers. Callers can discuss identity, coming out, relationships, bullying, work, family, HIV-related concerns, or simply the need to be heard without being told what decision to make.
Important distinction
This page is an independent Mello Zone orientation profile. It does not mean Mello Zone operates, supervises, endorses, or guarantees this organization. The provider remains responsible for its own service, eligibility, staffing, privacy practices, availability, and outcomes.
Contact methods
Phone, text, chat, email, locator, and website options can serve different needs. Availability notes are shown on every card.
Phone
888-843-4564
Weekdays and Saturday during published hours
Confidential peer support for callers of all ages.
Phone
888-688-5428
Weekdays and Saturday during published hours
A dedicated line for thinking through whether, when, and how to come out.
Phone
800-246-7743
Weekdays and Saturday during published hours
Peer support for callers age 25 and younger.
Phone
888-234-7243
Weekdays and Saturday during published hours
Peer support designed for LGBTQ+ adults age 50 and older.
Chat
lgbthotline.org/chat
During published chat hours
A private browser conversation with a trained LGBTQIA+ peer volunteer.
What it can help with
What to expect
A peer volunteer who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community
A confidential conversation without recorded calls
Listening, affirmation, information, and resource searches rather than commands
Optional requests for a city, state, country, or postal code when searching for local resources
The ability to end the conversation without judgment if it becomes too much
Limits and fit
History
1972
Milestone 01
The LGBT Switchboard of New York started providing peer support, information, and a safe space, and remains part of the Help Center's current service network.
1996
Milestone 02
The LGBT National Help Center began expanding confidential peer support beyond one city through national hotlines and information services.
Today
Milestone 03
The organization now combines multiple age- and need-specific lines, one-to-one chat, youth chatrooms, coming-out support, and LGBT Near Me.
Impact
These figures and examples are attributed to the provider's own public reporting. They do not guarantee an individual result.
Listed through the LGBT Near Me resource database.
National, youth, senior, coming-out, and New York switchboard pathways.
The current Help Center traces its national service to 1996.
Impact in practice
The Help Center's model is built around LGBTQIA+ volunteers who listen without telling callers what choice to make. That approach can be especially useful for a person who is still naming their identity, deciding whether to come out, or seeking a local resource but is not ready for a formal clinical setting.
Source: LGBT National Hotline: What to expectPrivacy and device safety
Official links and connected reading
Mello Zone directory statement
Mello Zone is not a crisis center, healthcare provider, counseling service, treatment locator, or substitute for licensed care. This profile summarizes publicly available information and provides direct links to the independent organization.
