Bouquets of flowers sit on a corner Monday, Nov. 21, near the site of the Nov. 19 mass shooting at a Club Q in Colorado Springs. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
In the wake of the Nov. 19 mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Summer Westerbur, a queer business owner who splits their time between Colorado and Florida, announced today (Tuesday, Nov. 22) that she is working in partnership with Sunserve and local LGBTQ community leaders to build a Pride Center in Colorado Springs.
Westerbur created a GoFundMe page to help raise the money necessary for the facility.
On the fundraising page, Westerbur said the new Pride Center would “provide a dedicated safe to provide life-affirming services to the LGBTQ community of Colorado Springs.”
She wrote, “Colorado Springs Pride Center closed in 2015. There is a need for LGBTQ-competent support and services. The victim’s families [from the Club Q shooting] will have ongoing needs, and the community will need a space to process this trauma. …
“Victims have commented that Club Q was the only place they felt safe in Colorado Springs. There is a true need for queer spaces and services.”
Westerbur also noted that SunServe Florida will be providing “guidance and administrative support” in this effort and that money collected through the GoFundMe page will be distributed through SunServe.
SunServe is a Florida-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission “to provide critical life assistance and professional mental health services with an emphasis on economically disadvantaged, marginalized youth, adults and seniors in the greater South Florida metropolitan area.”
— Tammye Nash
