Miami-Dade's LGBTQ+ community has two long-running, walk-in-friendly anchors for medical and social-support care: Care Resource, a federally qualified health center with three county locations, and Pridelines, the county's LGBTQ+ community center in Miami Beach. Both offer HIV testing, PrEP navigation, and mental health support on a sliding fee scale, regardless of a patient's insurance status.
Neither organization is new to this work, and neither started out as what it is today. Both trace their roots to the earliest, hardest years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Florida, when few institutions would treat gay men or talk openly about the virus. That history still shapes how they operate: as health providers first, built by and for a community that had to build its own safety net.
What is Care Resource, and who can it treat?
Care Resource is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), a federal designation that requires it to serve patients regardless of ability to pay. It was established in 1998 through the merger of two South Florida organizations born out of the AIDS crisis: Health Crisis Network, founded in 1983, and the Community Research Initiative of South Florida, founded in 1989, according to Care Resource's own history page. The center now provides primary medical care, dental services, behavioral health and substance-use treatment, pharmacy services, and HIV/AIDS care and testing, including a "Test and Treat" program for people who are newly diagnosed.
Care Resource describes its founding mission as a direct response to the epidemic, and its current leadership frames that history as ongoing. "Care Resource started as a beacon of hope for those who were suffering, at a time when not many people had their back," CEO Rick Siclari said in a statement marking the organization's 40th anniversary. "40 years later, we still take pride in being the most welcoming place of healing for all, regardless of HIV status, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and ability to pay."
Where are Care Resource's Miami-Dade locations?
Care Resource operates five locations across South Florida, three of them in Miami-Dade County: Midtown Miami, Miami Beach, and Little Havana, with two additional sites in Broward County in Fort Lauderdale and Oakland Park, per the organization's own site. The Midtown Miami location, at 3510 Biscayne Boulevard, offers primary medical, dental, pediatric, and behavioral health care along with food pantry access under one roof, with free parking and same-day online scheduling. Services there run on "a sliding fee scale based on family income and size," the center's page states, and it is accredited as a Patient-Centered Medical Home by the Joint Commission. The Midtown site also lists multilingual providers and online scheduling for same-day appointments, according to the center's page for that location — details that matter for a county where a large share of patients are more comfortable in a language other than English.
What does Pridelines offer beyond medical care?
Pridelines is Miami-Dade's dedicated LGBTQ+ community center, founded in 1982 — a history the organization describes as growing from "a circle of chairs" into what it now calls a comprehensive care ecosystem. Its Miami Beach location, at 1130 Washington Avenue, organizes services into six areas: youth and young adult programming for ages 13 to 24, adult social and cultural programming, senior programming for people 55 and older, a mental health hub offering therapy and trauma-informed care, health and wellness services including HIV and STI testing and PrEP and PEP navigation, and a faith and spirituality track for people processing religious trauma, according to Pridelines' own site. Unlike Care Resource, which is structured as a health center first, Pridelines positions itself as a community space that happens to include clinical services — its stated mission is to empower "South Floridians of every generation through safe, affirming, and pluralistic spaces, whole-person wellness, and HIV prevention and care."
How often should I get tested for HIV?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that "everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 should get tested for HIV at least once," with more frequent testing advised for people with ongoing risk factors. The agency's guidance is more specific for one group directly relevant to Miami-Dade's LGBTQ+ community: "Sexually active gay or bisexual men may benefit from more frequent testing (every 3 to 6 months)," the CDC states, while noting that an individual's actual risk and testing schedule is best worked out with a health care provider. The CDC also operates a locator tool that helps people find nearby organizations offering free or reduced-cost testing, including self-tests.
Do I need insurance to be seen?
No. Both organizations built their financial-access policies around treating people without insurance. Care Resource's sliding-scale system adjusts cost to household income and size at each of its locations, and as an FQHC it is required by federal designation to serve patients regardless of ability to pay. HIV tests specifically are also covered by insurance with no co-pay under federal guidance cited by the CDC, and free or low-cost testing is available for the uninsured through community health centers. Neither organization asks a patient to already know how they identify, or to disclose more than they choose to, before being seen — the intake process at a federally qualified health center is built around income and eligibility paperwork, not identity questions, and Pridelines' programming is explicitly organized as pluralistic space open to allies as well as LGBTQ+ residents.
Between the two organizations, Miami-Dade's LGBTQ+ residents have entry points that don't require a diagnosis, a referral, or proof of coverage to walk through the door — whether the need is a same-day medical appointment at a Biscayne Boulevard storefront, a PrEP prescription, or, for people 24 and under, a program built specifically around them. Both organizations note that hours, insurance plans accepted, and program schedules can change, so confirming current details directly with the organization before a visit is worth the extra step.
For a related stories perspective, read Where to Find LGBTQ+ Health Resources in Miami-Dade.