Lori Fleming was aware that her own daughter came out lesbian four years ago, shaken after learning of the suicide of a young man wrestling with his sexual identity.
“What does a mother do?” She said.
In Fleming’s case, she teamed up with Encircle, a group founded in 2017 to help LGBTQ youth in Provo, and others who pushed for such a facility to be created in Ogden to help the local population. “It was kind of a mission for me to achieve this,” she said.
The effort has paid off with a number of high-profile donations, and work on the new Community Resource House on Washington Boulevard in downtown Ogden is expected to begin this month. The new Encircle facility at 2458 Washington Blvd., on a now grassy, vacant lot, should be ready and opened in mid-October, according to the organizers.
A representation of the proposed Encircle building for LGBTQ youth and their families to be built on Washington Boulevard in Ogden north of 25th Street. Work is scheduled to begin in March.
Jed Nilson of Nilson Homes in South Ogden was also involved in bringing Encircle to Ogden, and he says one of the group’s primary goals is to prevent suicides among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and interviewing communities. Encircle facilities provide counseling to the LGBTQ community, their parents, and others. They also serve as a safe place for those who grapple with and understand their sexuality.
The Ogden facility – operational during the day and early evening but not an overnight facility – is meant to be a place where they can feel loved and cared for, Nilson said.
Nilson’s commitment is based in part on the experiences of a gay friend from school who had quietly tried to process his sexuality himself. Nilson did not find out about his friend’s situation until years later, including the suicidal thoughts he was having at the time. “It was hurtful to hear about his teenage years who were just lost and didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Stephenie Larsen, Founder and CEO of Encircle, sees the organization as a resource for parents of LGBTQ people who helps bring families together. Learning that a child is gay can be difficult for a parent, and even if the child accepts their sexuality, “life is just easier when the family gathers behind them,” said Larsen.
This whole-family approach is unique among LGBTQ stakeholders, Larsen said. “We found that nowhere else in the nation is there anything like us,” she said.
This undated photo shows the dining room of the Salt Lake City Encircle facility. The group plans to build a facility for LGBTQ youth and their families in Ogden. Work is scheduled to begin at the end of March.
Encircle currently has facilities in Provo, Salt Lake City and St. George, and one in Heber. Locations in Ogden and Logan are among the next planned Encircle locations in Utah. However, the group also plans to expand into Nevada, Arizona and Idaho. Aid will be large donations announced last month by Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith and Apple, the Cupertino, California-based technology company. The Smiths will donate $ 2 million to Encircle, Apple brings in $ 1 million, while Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds and wife Aja Volkman Reynolds will donate $ 1 million to Reynolds’ Las Vegas children’s home become.
Around $ 500,000 from donations announced last month will be used to start the Ogden facility, according to Larsen. Encircle hopes to raise an additional $ 500,000 to help with operations here.
“You save lives”The new Encircle facility in Ogden is located on open land on the east side of Washington Boulevard north of 25th Street.
Nilson, whose company will build the new Encircle Center, describes the planned structure as a brownstone that will fit into an urban setting. At the front of the building, a small square with green areas on both sides and a covered terrace and an outdoor space in the rear area is to be created according to the plans submitted to the City of Ogden. The rendering in city documents shows a three-tier brick structure.
“We want these children to feel part of something special and beautiful,” said Larsen.
For Fleming and Mike Ostermiller, a member of the Encircle Board of Directors, having just one resource in Northern Utah is for the LGBTQ community and their family members. Ostermiller, who lives in Kaysville, recalls looking for information and resources four years ago when his daughter came to him and his wife. “I’m just trying to learn everything I can to help my daughter,” recalls Ostermiller.
Fleming, who helped locate the proposed facility in Ogden Encircle, said it was a feast for the eyes to learn that her daughter was a lesbian. However, she also found that she was not alone, even when local resources were limited for the LGBTQ community and their family members. “There are so many others going through what I’ve been through,” she said.
Ultimately, Ostermiller reached out to Encircle, and both he and Fleming say that such a place is needed in this part of Utah. “You’re only there to help. You save lives, ”said Ostermiller.
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