Welcome to Bay Area Friends!
Bay Area Friends (BAF) is a FREE social and support group for people with genital herpes (HSV-1, HSV-2) who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We welcome anyone over 18 who is interested in making new friends, organizing fun activities, and meeting others who share our surprisingly common situation.
Founded in 1997, BAF has grown to over 2000 members and we are one of the largest and most active “H” social groups in the world. The Bay Area Friends Meetup Group is completely private. Nobody can see our group’s members or activities except other members. Please join Bay Area Friends on Meetup!
BAF is not a herpes dating service and provides no personal ads. Instead, we plan social events and activities to allow you, the members, to meet each other in a supportive, relaxed atmosphere. It’s mostly about making new friends and having fun together. We strive to make everyone feel welcome and accepted, just as they are. All we ask is that you “pay it forward” and also be welcoming and accepting to everyone in the group. Although most members are single, couples are also welcome to attend our events. In fact, some couples have met through the group!
BAF has no applications to fill out, no membership cards, and NO DUES AND NO MEMBERSHIP FEES – just lots of fun activities for you to enjoy, all organized by other members like you. Because there are no officers, no social directors, no dues and no budget, we rely on our individual members like you to volunteer to organize events and activities that others might be interested in, such as Happy Hours, Brunches, Hikes, Picnics, Ski Trips, Beach Parties, Bike Rides, Museum Tours, Free Shakespeare events, Kid-Friendly Events, Dancing, Ball Games, Surfing, Snowboarding, Camping, Bowling, Wine-Tasting, Skating, Comedy Shows, Billiards/Pool, Concerts, Motorcycle Rides, Movies & Dinner, etc. Your non-H friends will envy your social life! If you’d like to see more events in your area, or more events that reflect you interests, please plan something!
Since herpes does not discriminate, we are a very diverse group of people. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your ethnic background is, how old you are, your sexual preference, your religion or your politics or what you do for a living – we’re a great big mix of wonderful individuals and we make the most of it! New people attend events all the time. In fact, many of us are also very new to this situation and to the group. We’ll make sure to introduce you to other friendly folks and make you feel at home. If you’d like to talk to someone or ask questions before you attend your first event, just tell the organizer and someone will be in touch with you. We’d love to meet you!
Bay Area Friends Meetup Group
Please join the Bay Area Friends Meetup Group! Meet over 2000 of your fellow H members who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s totally Fun, Private and Free to join! What have you got to lose!
http://www.meetup.com/bayareafriends1
Other Herpes Support Groups and Herpes Social Groups
If you do not live or travel to the San Francisco Bay Area, you can still find other people with herpes to meet all over the world! For a list of groups in the US and elsewhere, see our page with a list of other Herpes Social and Support Groups.
Dating With Herpes
If you are mostly interested in finding other people with herpes for dating purposes, check out our page about Herpes Dating Sites.