A new support center for LGBTQ+ youth and parents opens in Ogden Sept. 8. It will offer a physical anchor for the group of nonprofits working to create a web of support for northern Utah’s queer residents.
Encircle’s Ogden location will help young people ages 12-25 and their parents build community through casual meet-ups and programs. Teens can drop in after school to hang out, work on homework and grab a snack. They can also get to know peers who identify similarly during friendship circles led by trained volunteers. Parents can join a support group or hear from community partners and guest speakers.
The mission, said Ana Chavarri, associate vice president of programs at Encircle, is to strengthen queer youths’ mental health and provide an affirming space. They also offer therapy sessions, for which scholarships are available.
LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to attempt suicide when they have supportive spaces, according to The Trevor Project.
Chavarri recalled one young person who came to an Encircle location suicidal after being bullied out of school. At first, a parent had to drag them to the center. The young person went from hanging back to joining group activities to challenging their peers at chess.
“This is how this youth bloomed. They found their people. They found community,” Chavarri said. “They were safe again.”
The young person is now a leader in the home — and remains undefeated at chess, according to Chavarri.
“That's the power of a safe space,” she said.
The organization’s physical presence sets it apart from other northern Utah LGBTQ groups that run programs but don’t have a steady gathering space.
Despite its lack of a home base, local nonprofit Ogden Pride is working to create a pop-up library. Under the Umbrella Bookstore in Salt Lake City, which sells LGBTQ+ books and hosts events, is a “great resource,” said Sean Childers-Gray, president of Ogden Pride. But many Ogdenites can’t get there easily. So his organization is developing a mobile library that will bring books centered on the community and people of color to different locations.
“We're looking specifically for the materials that may be banned, may be, you know, removed from shelves,” he said.
Social connection and safe physical spaces are key, Childers-Gray said.
“Politically, right now, there are many people who are just like, ‘I'm just going to stay home and I'm going to hide,’” he said, especially after a transgender person killed two children and injured 18 others at a Minnesota school in August.
That’s why he wants to work with other organizations and meet folks wherever they are. And more groups are cropping up.
For LGBTQ+ students in higher education, there's Ogden Pride’s new College Pride Alliance. It formed after public colleges and universities eliminated identity-focused student support centers to comply with a 2024 state law.
Also on the northern Utah scene is a new chapter of PFLAG, a national advocacy organization, formed in the Weber-Davis area earlier this year. Chapter co-founder Justin Wright saw the need because he said Davis County doesn’t have a history of being LGBTQ-affirming. The county is home to Republican Rep. Trevor Lee, who sponsored the 2025 law to limit which flags can fly on Utah school and government buildings.
“We felt like it was a really, really huge opportunity to help move the needle and reach out to community members, religious leaders, and say, ‘Hey, both things can be true,’” Wright said. “Like, ‘You can believe a set of beliefs, and you can love people and treat people in a way that's respectful and loving, and you can keep your family together.’”
The PFLAG chapter, which is the only one in Utah, is still getting off the ground. It hosts monthly meetings open to family members, allies of queer people and the community at large about supporting LGBTQ+ loved ones.
“There are a lot of families who either have or will soon, you know, realize that their child, or their niece, nephew, is a part of that community, and they have a choice to make, right?” he said. “And then they can choose to lean in with love, and PFLAG is here to welcome them in.”
Encircle, for its part, plans to grow and respond to community needs. It’s recruiting volunteers who speak Spanish to serve Ogden’s Hispanic and Latino communities. That could eventually develop into a Spanish-speaking friendship circle, Chavarri noted.
They’re also looking forward to working with other organizations. Encircle will open its physical space to like-minded groups to host meetings, Chavarri said, since they can’t support everyone on their own.
“We need other community partners here in Ogden to help us build that safety net,” she said.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
