When Heber City native Jess Judd heard in 2020 that the Provo-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit Encircle was establishing a youth community center in their hometown, it was like a weight lifted off their shoulders. “I thought, ‘Finally, this pressure that I, a teenager, have been under for years, is fi nally relieved for a moment, and I can just simply exist in a space where I feel safe without having to constantly fight for it,’” they said. Now a 24-year-old Encircle volunteer, Judd is preparing to carry on the fight for a local LGBTQ+ safe space as Encircle announced the imminent closure of its historic home at 81 E. Center St. on July 2, citing low attendance and engagement. The community center, which opened in June 2023, will shut its doors at the end of the month.  It will be the first of Encircle’s community centers to close since the nonprofit started in 2016. Encircle also has homes in Provo, Salt Lake City, Ogden and St. George. Encircle offers support groups, activities, events and therapy at its homes. LGBTQ+ youth aged 12-25 can also visit to simply hang out with friends in an accepting environment.  Before announcing the closure, Encircle conducted a community readiness assessment that studied engagement, leadership support, volunteer capacity, local resources and long-term sustainability at the Heber City home. The assessment and methodology were independently reviewed and validated by Dr. Lisa Diamond, a professor of psychology and gender studies at the University of Utah. “The findings reinforced what several years of operational experience had already shown: While need exists among LGBTQ+ youth and families in the region, the broader conditions necessary to sustain a dedicated physical location have not developed to the same degree seen in Encircle’s other communities,” Encircle said in a press release about the closure. ‘I can’t be in Heber anymore’ Judd is fundraising in hopes of purchasing the home from Encircle or buying or renting another space in Heber City that could serve as a LGBTQ+ community center. Judd is currently in contact with a realtor to look at potential locations. If that also falls through, the money will go toward programming events and get-togethers for queer youth.  Encircle did not respond to numerous requests for comment by the time of publication on whether it would consider selling Judd the Heber City home.  “I want to believe that Encircle’s mission to provide a safe space is still there, and even though they’re not willing to sponsor that, at least let us have the means of keeping that here ourselves,” Judd said. Judd hopes to collaborate with other LGBTQ+ organizations on the project, potentially Summit Pride, and possibly create their own nonprofit. Volunteer Jess Judd gives a tour of the Encircle Heber home in February 2026. Credit: Park Record file photo by Christopher Reeves This is not the first project Judd has undertaken to make their hometown a more inclusive place for its LGBTQ+ residents. Judd founded an LGBTQ+ youth coalition that organized community events and approached the Heber City Council in 2022 with a proposal for a city-sponsored Pride event. The City Council approved the idea but transformed it into Unity Week. The annual celebration, which began that year, includes beautification projects and live music but does not recognize the LGBTQ+ community in particular. Though Judd has long been committed to bettering Heber City, their first reaction to hearing the news about Encircle’s closure was an overwhelming desire to move away. “I was like, ‘I can’t be in Heber anymore because I’m not safe,’” Judd said. “I cannot imagine what these kids who are as young as 12 years old are thinking, because it’s possible for me to leave if I really wanted to. It is not possible for those kids to leave.”  Thinking of the next generation of LGBTQ+ youth informed Judd’s decision to try to fill the void Encircle Heber will leave. Judd’s GoFundMe has raised about $3,000 thus far; the largest donation is $500 from an 18-year-old Encircle patron. The fundraiser can be found at gofund.me/b664da2a9. ‘We seriously aren’t just numbers’ Encircle declined to share its full community readiness assessment with The Park Record.  However, Encircle Heber received more than 6,100 visits since its opening as of February this year, according to statistics Encircle provided The Park Record that month.  Additionally, Encircle’s 2025 annual report shows the Heber City home received nearly 2,200 visits last year, with an average of nine guests per day and 15 volunteers per week. The report said Encircle Heber “has seen strong engagement at major community events” but that “daily attendance at the home has been lower than anticipated.”  “We believe this is largely due to limited public transportation and the town’s commuter-based population,” the report said. In 2025, the Provo and Salt Lake City homes both had over 8,000 visits, the St. George home had nearly 7,000, and the Ogden home, which opened in September, had about 900. Guests are welcomed to the Encircle Heber Pride Carnival by Jess Judd, right, and Cherry Jones, left, in June 2024. Credit: Park Record file photo by Tyson Bolduc Judd believes it is unfair to compare attendance in Heber City with the homes in more populous counties. Wasatch County’s population was about 39,000 in 2025, according to data from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. The populations of the other counties where Encircle homes are located range from 209,000 in Washington County to over 1.2 million in Salt Lake County.  Even if attendance was low, the need for an LGBTQ+ community center in Wasatch County still exists, as Encircle acknowledged in its press release. Heber City resident Cherry Jones, who is collaborating with Judd on the fundraising, has been attending Encircle since its opening.  He said he was suicidal and isolated before attending Encircle but that he found his closest friends at the Heber City home. Now, other LGBTQ+ youth will not have that same opportunity. “I’m OK with where I’m at right now, but that was because of Encircle … because the community had a place to go,” he said.  He added, “We seriously aren’t just numbers. We are human beings.” Judd echoed that sentiment. “The fact is, there were people at the house every day. And even if there was one person there, that is one person who is getting help and feeling safe in our community, and to me, that’s what the purpose is. That’s what matters,” they said. “It’s for every single person that enters that door.” ‘Broader organizational health’ It is unclear whether Encircle’s decision to close its Heber City home was a financial one. Encircle said in its press release that the closure was “not a reflection of Encircle’s broader organizational health.” Encircle’s IRS tax forms paint a clearer picture of the nonprofit’s financial situation.  Encircle spent more than $4.7 million in 2025. Other than 2022, when Encircle spent $5.1 million, that’s the most the nonprofit ever spent in a single year. Additionally, 2025 saw Encircle’s largest-ever disparity between annual revenue and expenses. Its revenues were only around $2.7 million, according to Encircle’s IRS Form 990 from that year. Much of the difference appears to have been paid through Encircle’s net assets, which, at the end of 2025, were nearly $7.2 million. Credit: Park Record file photo by Christopher Reeves Credit: Park Record file photo by Christopher Reeves Left: The interior of Encircle Heber. Right: A plaque outside Encircle Heber commemorating Collin Russell, a gay man born in Murray who died of an accidental overdose in 2018. Encircle’s IRS Form 990s show that it has spent more than it has earned every year since 2022. But it has been supported by the substantial funds it raised in 2021. The nonprofit raked in $14.5 million in revenue that year, in no small part thanks to publicity and fundraising efforts spearheaded by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Imagine Dragons vocalist Dan Reynolds and Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith. Encircle’s revenues have been much smaller every other year. The year with the second-highest annual revenues for Encircle was 2022, when it raised nearly $4.1 million. Encircle did not return a request for comment about whether closing the Heber City home was related to cost-cutting measures in the organization. It is unclear how much it costs to run Encircle Heber. The location had two part-time employees and offered only virtual therapy at the time of the announcement. The home’s full-time program director, Elise Villaroman, left last July to serve as the program director of the new Ogden center. According to Judd, an interim director filled the role until January, and day-to-day operations were handed over to the two part-time employees.  At that time, the Heber City home also changed its hours. Formerly open weekdays, it shifted to only Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. ‘Thrown to the wolves’ Volunteers and guests are still grappling with the news of Encircle Heber’s closure one week after the announcement. Volunteer and ally Jaxson Persch first became involved with Encircle Heber around three years ago and runs weekly tabletop role-playing games, including a Sunday event for adults out of his home in Midway. He said he wanted to volunteer at Encircle because it was one of a few community spaces not associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was unsure at first if he would be welcomed at Encircle as a straight man but was surprised by what he found. “I’ve gotten incredibly comfortable around the queer community, and I consider them far more welcoming than most straight people I’ve met,” he said. “The people here who have their very traditional views kind of believe this valley belongs to them. They’re going to see this as a victory.” Persch plans to continue hosting his Sunday game sessions, but the center’s sessions for those under 18 will be discontinued, leaving younger Encircle patrons with fewer gathering spaces.  Encircle celebrated the ninth anniversary of the opening of its first home during a Rainbow Brunch at its Heber City location in February. Credit: Park Record file photo by Christopher Reeves The idea of local LGBTQ+ kids losing a safe space has been particularly devastating for Alison Meldrum, a 19 year old who often visits the Encircle Heber City location. She said having a circle of accepting people helped her come out as transgender and ultimately saved her life.  Meldrum has attended Encircle Heber for about a year. She formerly lived in Kaysville, where she was closer to Salt Lake City, which has an abundance of LGBTQ+ spaces. When she moved to Heber City, she felt anxious even leaving the house — until she found her community at Encircle. “I hope that the (Encircle) higher-ups realize how much more of a blow it is to these small communities where there is no other place to go,” she said. Meldrum’s girlfriend, 20-year-old Crow Daugaard, said the same. She was raised in Midway and first heard about Encircle’s programs from a therapist four years ago. Daugaard said at that time she was shy, awkward and not fully accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, despite being part of it herself. But as she repeatedly attended Encircle programs, she became happier and ultimately decided to give back to the organization that had helped her as a volunteer at the Heber City home. The couple recently moved from Heber City to Layton, and Daugaard considered volunteering at Encircle’s Ogden home. But after the organization announced the closure of the Heber City location, she’s not sure she wants to continue volunteering, citing broken trust. “From the beginning, I was told that Encircle is home. It is home for people who don’t feel safe in their own homes. And now, that home is being shut down,” she said. “Essentially, they are being evicted, thrown to the wolves.” Encircle stated in its press release that the organization “remains deeply committed to its mission of bringing family and community together to enable LGBTQ+ young people to thrive” and will continue operations at its other locations.  The following is a noncomprehensive list of LGBTQ+ resources:  Wasatch High School has a Gay Straight Alliance. The faculty advisor is Lauren Cressman. Summit Pride focuses on events, visibility, advocacy and scholarships in Summit County. Flourish Therapy Inc. offers mental health resources virtually and in-person at its Orem, South Jordan and Salt Lake City locations. Mama Dragons supports Utah’s mothers of LGBTQ+ children through support groups and by teaching inclusive parenting. The University of Utah provides gender-affirming care through its Transgender Health Program. The Trevor Project is dedicated to suicide prevention nationwide and operates a 24/7 hotline. The post Encircle volunteers seek to replace Heber City’s only LGBTQ+ space appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less