 | |
| Founded | 2016 [1] |
|---|---|
| Founders | Stephenie Larsen |
| Headquarters | Provo, Utah |
| Website | encircletogether.org |
Encircle is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides support and counselling for LGBTQ+ students and their families at multiple locations in Utah. [1] [2] [3]
Encircle was founded in 2016 by Stephanie Larsen. [1] It was set up to help LGBTQ+ youth survive homophobia in the predominantly Mormon communities of Utah, [4] [5] [6] [7] and to help Mormons to become more accepting of LGBTQ+ people. [4] [8]
It opened to clients in Provo in February 2017, [4] expanding to Salt Lake City in January 2018. [1] In February 2019 it moved its Salt Lake City center to a larger site. [9] It opened a location in St. George in October 2020, [10] [11] [12] and as of January 2021 was readying a location in Heber. [2] [5] By June 2020, Encircle had more than 900 monthly clients. [13]
Tyler Domgaard, the Program Manager of the Salt Lake City location, was arrested and charged in August 2020 for the possession of child pornography. [14]
In February 2021, Tim Cook, Ryan Smith, and Dan Reynolds announced they were donating a combined US$4 million to Encircle to open new locations in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. [15] [16] By October 2021, an additional $5 million was raised for the same campaign through additional donors including many business, individuals, and The State of Utah. The funds are being used to open nine new homes, a "Sustainability Fund" and Encircle Cafe. [17]
In June 2019, Encircle cancelled its relationship with Flourish, a for-profit organization that had provided Encircle's therapy services. [18] The change disrupted patient care, but Encircle said the change was necessary to protect Encircle's non-profit status. [18] Some patients left Encircle in order to continue seeing their existing therapists from Flourish, prompting Flourish to investigate converting to nonprofit status to make the therapy affordable. [18]
Steve Young was one of the earliest donors and supporters of Encircle. He said, "Ensuring a safe, affirming place exists for LGBTQ+ young people to find friends, and for their parents to find support and guidance is vital - and Encircle is the organization to do just that.” [19]
In October 2021, Utah State Governor Spencer Cox voiced his support saying, "Many of Utah's LGBTQ youth face higher rates of depression, anxiety and social isolation, and that's why Encircle is so important. Finding a place for support, encouragement and belonging can make all the difference for LGBTQ youth and families, and Encircle provides that safe space. I'm proud to support Encircle as it serves thousands of Utah's most vulnerable youth." [17]
The following organizations are listed as "Generous Community Supporters": [19]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a restorationist, nontrinitarian Christian denomination that is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The church is headquartered in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 17 million members and over 72,000 full-time volunteer missionaries. The church was the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States as of 2012, and reported over 6.8 million US members as of 2022.
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Colorado to its east, Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, Arizona to its south, and Nevada to its west. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. state of Utah, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. As of the 2020 census, the population is 51,017, up from 7,143 in 1990.
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Dixie is a nickname for the populated, lower-elevation area of south-central Washington County, the southwest corner of the State of Utah. The area lies in the northeastern Mojave Desert, south of Black Ridge and west of the Hurricane Cliffs. Its winter climate is significantly more mild than the rest of Utah.
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is an open, inclusive, comprehensive, polytechnic 4-year public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers doctoral degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certifications. As of fall 2022, there are 12,556 students enrolled at UT.
Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, & Friends is an international organization for individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer, intersex, or same-sex attracted, and their family members, friends, and church leaders who are members or former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Utah have significantly evolved in the 21st century. Protective laws have become increasingly enacted since 2014, despite the state's reputation as socially conservative and highly religious. Same-sex marriage has been legal since the state's ban was ruled unconstitutional by federal courts in 2014. In addition, statewide anti-discrimination laws now cover sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing, and the use of conversion therapy on minors is prohibited. In spite of this, there are still a few differences between the treatment of LGBT people and the rest of the population, and the rights of transgender youth are restricted.
The basic beliefs and traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Corridor in the United States, and is present to a lesser extent in many places of the world where Latter-day Saints live.
All homosexual sexual activity is condemned as sinful by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its law of chastity, and the church teaches that God does not approve of same-sex marriage. Adherents who participate in same-sex sexual behavior may face church discipline. Members of the church who experience homosexual attractions, including those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from same-sex marriage and any homosexual sexual activity or sexual relationships outside an opposite-sex marriage. However, all people, including those in same-sex relationships and marriages, are permitted to attend the weekly Sunday meetings.
Daniel Coulter Reynolds is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled Egyptian – EP, as a duo with his then wife Aja Volkman under the moniker Egyptian. He is a recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award.
West Ridge Academy, is a youth residential treatment center based in West Jordan, Utah, USA. It seeks to provide clinical services, education, and other programs for teens, both girls and boys, that are identified as at-risk. Until 2005, the Utah Boys Ranch was male-only. In early 2005, it opened new, separate facilities for girls and changed its name to West Ridge Academy. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation under the name Children and Youth Services, Inc. The academy states that it provides "quality clinical services, education, and experiences which promote spiritual awareness, personal accountability and change of heart." The facility has received criticism for past abusive practices toward residents, including facing lawsuits in 2008, 2010, and 2012 by former students. In 2016, the application to transition West Ridge Academy into a charter school, named Eagle Summit Academy, was approved by the Utah Board of Education after including caveats to keep public and private funding separate in the school's budgets and to ensure the safety of the new charter school's students.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Utah. Utah has more church members than any other U.S. state or country. The LDS Church is also the largest denomination in Utah.
Mormons Building Bridges is a decentralized grassroots group composed primarily of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who seek to improve the attitudes between members of the LDS Church and the LGBT community.
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Karen Gail Miller, is an American businesswoman. Following the death of her husband, Larry H. Miller, she assumed the role of chairwoman of the Larry H. Miller Group (LHM) of Companies, now known as the Larry H. Miller Company (LHMCO). From 2009 until the sale of the team in 2020, she maintained a majority interest in the Utah Jazz, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise located in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of 2023, she continues to retain a minority stake in the team and its associated businesses. Miller is a major supporter of Big League Utah, a campaign to bring a Major League Baseball team to Utah. She engages in philanthropy through her family foundation.
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LGBT people and the Latter Day Saint movement | |
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| Overview articles | |
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