Po & Christen's Love Forward Event: Supporting Encircle SLC

"When love is greater than our differences, we create a safe place for our future." -Unknown

This year for their annual Pride Month Project, Christen Westphal and Maddie "Po" Pogarch are choosing to support Encircle, a safe house for queer youth. With Po's big move to Salt Lake City this year, they thought it was paramount to continue supporting communities that have the most potential for positive impact. Considering the stigma that surrounds Salt Lake City, they thought this was an opportunity to bring awareness to the gradual progress that is happening while continuing to pursue their advocacy for health and wellness for queer youth everywhere.

With their values of mental health continuing to be at the forefront, Christen and Po chose Encirlce for their work in providing a safe and supportive space while focusing on social connection, emotional and psychological skills, positive emotional experiences, and authenticity. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Encircle seeks to combat these statistics by helping LGBTQ+ individuals form meaningful relationships and develop skills to support themselves psychologically and emotionally. Guests who have utilized the provided space and servieces have reported experiencing less depression, less anxiety, and overall better mental health. Through the services they offer, each of these outcomes has been producing more than a 98% success rate. 98% SUCCESS RATE. H*CK YEAH. More than 200,000 mental health services have been provided at Encircle since 2017!!

You can see why Po & Christen have chosen Encircle to support in their efforts this June. If you feel inspired and are able to support this cause in any way, please do! No contribution is too small. With the success of last year's tee-shirt project, supporting Our Safe Place San Diego by raising $3,000, Po & Christen have set this year's goal at the same amount in hopes of achieving equal or greater success.

If you are local to Salt Lake City and want to partake in a more face-to-face fundraising event, Po will be hosting trivia night at Hans Kombucha and Tap Room on June 26th! Details to follow.