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Encircle’s ‘$8 Million, 8 Homes’ campaign provides safe space while finding solutions for LGBTQ+ youth and the families.
Imagine Dragon's frontman Dan Reynolds announced he is donating his childhood Las Vegas home to Encircle, the LGBTQ+ support group that seeks to find solutions for LGBTQ+ youth and families. The effort is part of Encircle's "$8 Million, 8 Houses" campaign, establishing eight new Encircle homes in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. The group already has homes in Provo, Salt Lake City, and St. George, with a fourth under construction in Heber.
"Encircle is about bringing young LGBTQ+ people and their families together, by including the community and strengthening the bonds that connect us," Reynolds and wife Aja Volkman said in a statement. "Being a part of this organization means so much to both of us."
Reynold's childhood home, valued at $1 million will be Encircle's first support center in the state of Nevada. Encircle is the 2016 brainchild of CEO and founder Stephanie Larsen, who was alarmed about the number of deaths by suicide among LGBTQ+ youth in her community of Provo and decided to make a difference. She opened the first Encircle house on Valentine's Day 2017 in Provo. The group uses the support centers to find solutions for LGBTQ+ youth and the families, while also providing support and safe spaces for those in need within the community.
Reynolds joined Apple CEO Tim Cook and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith on Good Morning America last week to discuss Encircle and the $8 Million, 8 Homes campaign.
"I've watched throughout my life the difficult path that LGBT+ youth have, especially coming from homes of faith," Reynolds revealed. "Now to know, with my mum and dad's blessing, I was able to purchase the home for them and it's going to be the first Encircle home in Las Vegas - that's powerful for me."
This is not the first time Reynolds has proved a strong ally for LGBTQ+ youth. Having grown up in a conservative Mormon family, he has partnered in the past with GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and Encircle for the LoveLoud Festival which featured live music from Imagine Dragons and other groups, with proceeds benefiting LGBTQ+ youth from unsupportive homes or communities. He also filmed Believer, a documentary which followed Reynolds, a member of the Mormon church himself, as he explored the impact of the church's beliefs on LGBTQ+ youth.
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