Welcome to Bay Area Friends!

Bay Area Friends (BAF) is a social group for people with genital herpes (HSV1, HSV2) who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We welcome anyone over 18 who is interested in making new friends, sharing fun activities together, and meeting others who share our unique situation.  In the last few years, we have grown to over 1500 members and are one of the largest and most active "H" social groups in the country. Please join us!

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 one another in a supportive, relaxed atmosphere.  It's mostly just about making new friends and having fun together.  Most of our events take place at public locations, so even new people will feel comfortable. Although most members are single, couples are also welcome to attend our events.  In fact, some couples have met through the group! 

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.  Please check our Events Calendar to see what's coming next.  We'd love to meet you! 

If you are interested in online dating services, we also provide information here on herpes dating services, as well as mainstream dating services.  We also have information "how to tell someone that you have herpes," "how to reduce your risk of transmitting herpes" to non-H partners, and info about the new type-specific herpes blood tests to help you and your partners find out if and what you have.  We also have links to some of the best herpes sites on the web which have the most current information on herpes diagnosis, transmission and treatment, as well as local and internet support groups.  If you are gay, lesbian, bi or transgender with herpes, we have info and support for you as well.

Yahoo Groups - Message Boards

In order to keep informed about our upcoming events, we STRONGLY recommend that you join our Yahoo Group Message Board. It's a great way to stay connected to the community, and many last minute activities are posted there.  Click here for more info.

Herpes Support Groups

If you are new to herpes and seek medical and other information on how to deal with your new situation, we recommend attending a San Francisco  HELP (support group) meeting.  For more information on San Francisco HELP and other support groups, click here