Logan Pride celebration reveals unknown plans for university-owned Encircle home
When walking near the corner of 500 N. and 700 E., passersby may notice the Encircle home, an LGBTQ+ resource and advocacy center owned by Utah State University. What was once intended as a safe space is now a vacant house on the edge of campus.
Meanwhile, Cache Valley’s LGBTQ+ community continues to find ways to gather and celebrate, most recently through the Logan Pride Festival.
Logan Pride held its annual festival on Sept. 6 on Center Street, celebrating LGBTQ+ pride and diversity in Cache Valley. With performances, vendors and activities throughout the day, the festival aimed to create a fun and safe environment for all.
That sense of connection is part of what the Encircle home was once expected to bring to Cache Valley.
Located near the bottom of Old Main Hill, the home was built on land leased from USU and was designed to resemble the family home of late poet and Utah State University alum May Swenson.
At the time, Encircle said the home would provide therapy, community programs and a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in Cache Valley.
Today, most students walking past the property don’t know what it was meant to be.
Instead, passersby notice the weathered state of the home. The windows and doors are boarded, construction materials remain on the lot and weeds creep up around the foundation.
Encircle, a Utah-based nonprofit, was founded in 2016 by Stephenie Larsen after hearing about the alarming number of suicides among LGBTQ+ youth in her community.
The group has opened homes in Provo, Salt Lake City, Heber City and St. George. Larsen announced plans in 2021 to expand to eight other cities, including Logan, after receiving support and funding from donors and corporations.
“I was surrounded by pure love and happiness, especially from all of the volunteers I was able to work with,” said Quinn Gerber, a USU graduate who volunteered with Encircle. “I haven’t heard anything from Encircle Logan in a while, unfortunately.”
Despite breaking ground in Logan four years ago, the Cache Valley location never opened its doors, even as another home opened in Ogden on Sept. 6.
Since then, little information has been shared publicly. Encircle has not explained why construction stopped or what it plans to do with the property.
“I know that a lot of what happened was we got a lot of grant funding for houses, and they started expanding rather quickly, and then COVID hit, and then the price of new builds got way expensive,” said Devin Gold, a former Encircle therapist. “And so, we had a lot of issues financially with making that expansion plan work, and then they’ve just been scaling back a lot since then.”
While Encircle has faced setbacks, Logan Pride Festival continues to draw crowds and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
“Even just out and about in Logan, I always feel like queer people are around, and I always feel very supported, especially compared to other places in Utah where I come from,” said Anna Tuite, a Utah State student attending the festival. “It’s just so much fun here, and I feel like everyone is really supportive.”
Dozens of booths offered various prizes, resources and more, from community programs to creative projects, alongside live performances that added to the celebratory atmosphere.
Kenzo Tillitt, who ran a booth for USU Arts Access, a program that offers art opportunities for students, especially those with disabilities, said the festival was fun to attend.
“This just makes me happy to see in the center of Logan,” he said. “It’s a joyful time.”