Stonewall Project — Free Recovery Support for Gay, Bi & Queer Men
The Stonewall Project is a free harm-reduction-based support program for gay, bi, and queer men working through their relationship with drugs, alcohol, and sex. Operated by San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the Stonewall Project combines peer support groups, individual counseling, drop-in spaces, and a community that meets men where they are — without requiring abstinence as a prerequisite, but supporting members fully if abstinence is what they want.
What to Expect
Stonewall runs free weekly peer support groups for gay, bi, and queer men working on substance use and/or sexual behaviors that feel out of alignment with how they want to live. Group topics include early changes, navigating chemsex and party culture, recovery from methamphetamine use, relationships and sex in recovery, and rebuilding life after years of substance use. The harm-reduction framework means members aren’t required to be abstinent — the work is about finding the relationship with substances and sex that fits each person’s goals. Stonewall also offers individual counseling, drop-in spaces, and a vibrant community of gay, bi, and queer men in similar work.
Who This Group Is For
The Stonewall Project welcomes gay, bi, and queer men (including trans men) of any background, race, age, and stage of substance use or recovery. Members include men actively using and wanting to make changes, men in early recovery, men years into sobriety wanting community, and men who are abstinent from some substances and using others. The peer community is intentionally inclusive of HIV-positive men, sex workers, men engaging in chemsex, and men who have felt alienated by abstinence-only recovery spaces.
Why Peer Support Works
Gay, bi, and queer men often describe how alienating it can be to navigate substance use recovery in spaces that don’t understand the role of substances in queer community, the realities of chemsex, the experience of being HIV-positive in recovery, or the particular shape of queer sexual culture. Stonewall’s peer community is built by and for gay, bi, and queer men, so members don’t have to translate context or pretend their experiences are simpler than they are. The harm-reduction framework opens the door to community participation for many men who couldn’t access traditional 12-step spaces.
How to Join
The Stonewall Project is free. Visit stonewallsf.org to learn about current groups, schedule an intake call, and access services. The program is operated by San Francisco AIDS Foundation; in-person services run in San Francisco, and many groups are also offered virtually to gay, bi, and queer men in California and beyond. Members do not need to be patients of SF AIDS Foundation or HIV-positive to participate.