LGBTQ AA Meetings

You want an A.A. meeting where you do not have to explain yourself. Search a local list, read the label, and ask the group. You can listen.

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Key takeaway

You want a meeting where you do not have to explain yourself before you sit down. A.A. publishes LGBTQ members' stories and does not publish a national calendar. A group may use the A.A. name only if every alcoholic who wants help is welcome. Tonight, search a local list, read the label, and ask the group. You can listen.

Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

You want a meeting where you do not have to explain yourself before you can sit down. A.A. publishes stories from LGBTQ members. It does not publish a national calendar of LGBTQ meetings. Tonight, search a local list or Meeting Guide, read the label, and ask the group. You can sit and listen.

If someone is seizing, not breathing, or in withdrawal that cannot wait, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

A label, and a welcome

Some members come together as specialized groups for men, women, young people, doctors, gays, and others. The word in that list is the pamphlet's. The newer stories pamphlet is the one that names lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and transitioning, and queer. Do not treat the older word as if the pamphlet had printed the newer one.

A specialized group may use the A.A. name only when the members are alcoholics and the door stays open to every alcoholic who wants help, regardless of profession, gender, or other distinction. Any alcoholic who wants help is welcome. A listing that says LGBTQ, gay, lesbian, or queer is a local label. Read it, then ask the group how they describe the meeting. The label is not a rule that turns a newcomer away.

A women label is a different pamphlet and a different listing. That search is in women-only A.A. meetings. Opening a local list is in how to find an A.A. meeting.

Stories first, then a real listing

Thirteen LGBTQ members tell what drinking was like and what happened after they joined. The piece is General Service Conference-approved, and it names no city, day, or room. Printing one copy is allowed. Printing is not a meeting search.

A.A.'s website does not contain a meeting finder. For a list in one place, contact a local A.A. resource, or use Meeting Guide. The public meetings search can show A.A. listings from public feeds. It does not add an LGBTQ filter the feed did not already mark, and it does not check each listing. If a result uses LGBTQ, gay, or a similar word, confirm it with the group. If it does not say that, leave the label off.

You can sit and listen, and you do not have to pay anything to attend. There are no dues or fees. A special-interest word on the meeting does not create a bill. The hour itself is in what to expect at your first A.A. meeting.

Open and closed are a different question

A closed meeting is for members, or for people who have a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. An open meeting is for anyone interested in A.A.'s program of recovery, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. An LGBTQ label can sit on either kind. If you are bringing someone who does not drink, or you are only there to observe, choose open. That choice is in open versus closed meetings.

Phone and video meetings can carry the same label. How those listings work is in online A.A. meetings. Confirm both the interest label and whether the meeting is open or closed before you rely on them. A family member who wants their own fellowship can look to Al-Anon. They do not have to sit in your meeting.

If you need a clinician

Privacy, the name you use, and prescribed hormones in a treatment program are in LGBTQ-affirming treatment. An A.A. meeting is not that setting. Mutual-help groups are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals.

SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program, with its own meetings. How the names differ is in the SMART Recovery overview.

A sudden stop after chronic heavy drinking can be life-threatening. Do not quit heavy drinking at home while you wait for a listing that matches a label. What that withdrawal looks like is in alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The drug itself is on alcohol.

Search FindTreatment.gov when the drinking needs licensed care. Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding a program while you look for the meeting.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

Common Questions

Does A.A. publish a national list of LGBTQ meetings?

No. A.A. says its website does not contain a meeting finder. Pamphlet P-32 is thirteen stories from members who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and transitioning, and queer. It is General Service Conference-approved. It names no city, day, or room. Printing one copy is not a meeting search. Use a local list or Meeting Guide, then ask the group.

Can a group with an LGBTQ label still call itself an A.A. group?

The group pamphlet says some members meet as specialized groups, and the word in that list is gays. They may use the A.A. name if the members are alcoholics and the door stays open to every alcoholic who seeks help, regardless of profession, gender, or other distinction. Any alcoholic who wants help is welcome. Read the listing and ask the group.

Is an LGBTQ meeting the same as a closed meeting or a women's meeting?

No. Open and closed are a separate label. A closed meeting is for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop. An open meeting is for anyone interested in A.A.'s program, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. An LGBTQ label can sit on either kind. A women's meeting is a different label. If you are only observing, choose an open meeting.

Is an LGBTQ A.A. meeting the same as affirming treatment?

No. Affirming treatment is clinical care: privacy, the name you use, and prescribed hormones. An A.A. meeting is peer support. Mutual-help groups are not led by healthcare professionals. There are no dues or fees. Renting a room does not turn the meeting into a treatment program.

What if I need medical help tonight?

Look for care, not a meeting label. Alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening if someone who has been drinking heavily for a long time stops suddenly. Call 911 for a seizure, severe confusion, or trouble breathing. Call or text 988 in a mental health crisis. Search FindTreatment.gov for a licensed program.