CONNECT to close its doors on Saturday

Photo: CONNECT

PARK CITY, Utah — Summit County-based nonprofit CONNECT, which focused on fighting the stigma surrounding mental illness, announced yesterday that it will close its doors effective Saturday, Sept. 30.

CONNECT has been serving Summit and Wasatch counties since its formation in 2016. It also made mental health services more accessible.

Organization members felt it was the right time for CONNECT to step aside leading up to the annual Live PC Give PC day, on Nov. 3, said Kathryn Meyer, a CONNECT board member.

“In a myriad of ways we have succeeded in our original mission, which was to increase mental health awareness in Summit County,” Meyer said. “When we began, we were one of the only voices in the nonprofit space committed to this work. Happily, today there are a number of organizations offering our community critical and timely mental health support and services.”

Although CONNECT will close its doors, the nonprofit is hopeful that its work will carry on, according to John Hanrahan, another CONNECT board member.

“The work and mission are still relevant,” Hanrahan said. “We are actively working to merge our resources and assistance programs into other partnering organizations to ensure the continued impact in reducing the stigma of mental health issues, enhancing mental healthcare access and affordability, and continuing to convene and administer the Mental Wellness Alliance.”

Julya Sembrat, executive director of CONNECT, expressed her gratitude to those who have supported CONNECT over the years.

“We are immensely grateful for the support and contributions from our donors, partners, staff, and volunteers, each of whom has played a pivotal role in normalizing conversations about mental health,” Sembrat said. “As responsible stewards of the resources, funding, and hours we’ve received from our amazing community members and partners, the board has made the difficult but healthy decision to wind down our programming and operations.”