Once Upon A Time…

A Queen named Tara and their King had a dream: to create a kingdom for their queer community to thrive and be safe. Unfortunately, the fairytale of Mosaics and the building of a safe queer community center in Provo, UT has turned into a horror story. Since forming in 2023, the United Drag Alliance, our community center of Mosaics, and even Tara and their family, have been the victims of many malicious acts of violence. THREE separate Drag Story Hour events held by Tara have had bomb threats against them, September 2023, April 2024, and July 2024. Domestic terrorists have shown up armed to multiple events featuring Tara and Drag Story Hour throughout Utah, Wyoming, and the Intermountain West. Tara and their family were even doxed out of Tara’s childhood home by a far-right hate group, and forced to go into hiding. Arguably from the stress and toll of all these events, Tara has been diagnosed  with the same condition that took their mother in 2020, and now has to step back from day-to-day operations of Mosaics. Because of everything mentioned and the toll they have taken on resources, the United Drag Alliance needs help from the community to save Mosaics and keep the doors open for the community that so desperately needs it. Without help, Mosaics will be forced to close its doors by December 1, 2024. 

Through All This, We Are Holding Out For A Hero.

As our safe space is under risk of closing, we are calling all heroes, near and far, for help. We are in need of $200,000 to stay open and operational. Transparency is the cornerstone of the United Drag Alliance, and every dollar of our goal has a purpose and a need. 

• Operational Costs: Mosaics costs roughly $6,500 a month in operational costs including rent ($5,300), utilities ($650), and supplies ($550), with a total yearly budget of $78,000.
• Employment of Trans & Queer Community: With over 80% of the employees inside our community center are Trans/Non-Binary/Gender Queer, we support a community that finds it hard to get employment in a community like Provo, UT. Since Mosaics opened, Tara has been working inside the space at no cost to ensure that the community that needed the monetary compensation received it. However, since their diagnoses and having to step out of day-to-day operations, the labor budget has grown from $2,500 a month to over $5,000 a month. Mosaics has brought on 4 new employees to take on the load of what Tara was doing. That creates a need for $60,000 a year for labor. 
• Expanded Medical & Mental Health Services: We are in the process of expanding our operational hours and services to include 24/7 medical and mental health services to our community in Utah County. These services will include; HIV/STI testing and education (which does not exist in Utah County currently except with Planned Parenthood), free or heavily discounted mental health services through various nonprofits and therapists, a 24/7 food pantry and cafe for individuals suffering from food scarcity, and rooms built out specifically for Telehealth calls to provide a safe and private space for patients. The cost to build out these spaces inside Mosaics has been quoted at $62,000.
• Extra Raised: Any extra funds that are raised will also go towards the creation of a mobile banned book and sexual health resource bus. This bus will travel the Intermountain West to various small town pride and community events to distribute banned books and provide HIV/STI testing and resources at no cost to community members. This project is anticipated to cost approx. $100,000 to supply and become operational. 

Even If You Don’t Have Gold To Spare, You Can Help. 

We understand resources are tight right now in the world. So if you can not donate, please consider the following:

1) Share our message and story with EVERYONE you can including news outlets, influencers, corporations, family, friends, and even your coworkers.

2) If you are aware of grant or sponsorship opportunities, please share them with us at info@mosaicsutah.com and we will have our grants team reach out to you.

3) If you are able, come to any of our free or pay-what-you-can events in Mosaics.

We pray this is not the final chapter of Mosaics, but without the help of our community near and far, it might just be.

Additional Information & Stories of Mosaics

Advocate Magazine: https://www.advocate.com/news/tara-lipsyncki-ut…

Advocate Magazine: https://www.advocate.com/news/proud-boys-drag-s…

Them Magazine: https://www.them.us/story/tara-lipsyncki-drag-q…

Q Salt Lake: https://www.qsaltlake.com/news/2024/05/25/tara-…