Colorado Springs opens LGBTQ+ resource center with input from Club Q survivors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Nearly two years after a shooter killed five people inside an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, the city has opened a resource center, Prism Community Collective, for its queer community. 

“We really wanted to create a warm, welcoming feeling and a sense of community when you walk in this door for everybody who comes into this space,” said John Arcediano, who survived the Club Q shooting and will serve as center’s program and outreach manager. Arcediano led the creation of the center along with Rachel Keener and Stoney Roberts, community members who banded together in the aftermath of the shooting to support the LGBTQ+ community.

The center – which opened its doors to the public last Wednesday — is housed under the Community Health Partnership and is supported with grant money from the Anti-terrorism Emergency Assistance program, which the federal government awards to communities after shootings or other mass tragedies. 

Keener said the $1.7 million awarded will cover Prism’s expenses until 2026 but, if the center is successful, Community Health Partnership has pledged to find ways to continue funding it.

“We’re making sure we’re not just putting something in front of the community and then taking it away,” said Keener, who is the senior project manager for Community Health Partnership. 

“We need a place where people aren’t drinking or using substances and they can access mental health resources, play board games and make connections,” she said.

Each room inside Prism is named after the five people killed in the Club Q shooting: Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Green Vance. The victims’ families shared their oved ones’ hobbies and personalities with designers so that the rooms honored each individually.  

In addition to honoring the deceased victims, Prism staff also want to prioritize supporting the survivors of the Club Q attack. Because Colorado Springs did not have an existing support network in the months following the shooting, many survivors did not get the help they needed and ended up with debilitating medical debt and unaddressed trauma, Acediano said.

“Basic things like therapy or grocery shopping or finding food stamps were not easily accessible,” Acediano said. 

The most important part of creating a relaxing and sober space, Acediano said, is to ensure survivors feel supported there.

“It’s like re-acclimating them back into the community and really making them feel comfortable to come to a space after a mass tragedy and make them feel like they belong here and that they have a place they can go to,” Acediano said. “It’s hard, after a mass tragedy, to find your voice and access resources.”

Roberts said the center will first and foremost serve as a low-barrier, all-ages gathering space with board games, support and community gatherings. 

Community Health Partnership, which will manage Prism, has also organized for doctors and therapists around town to provide LGBTQ+ health care, including gender-affirming care, STI testing, mental health support and primary care from affirming doctors.

“We’ve talked about the disparity and lack of access to physical and mental health providers for the LGBTQ+ community here, specifically for transgender and gender-expansive folks,” Keener said. 

Colorado Springs has garnered national attention for taking controversial stances on abortion and LGBTQ+ issues. Though Roberts said the city has grown more welcoming of the LGBTQ+ community as its population has grown, there are still large gaps in health care and gathering spaces that need to be filled.

“I think we're at a time where folks are looking for connection and opportunities to find connection with other community members who share similar walks of life to them,” Roberts said. “And, we also need to provide a way for folks to tell us what they need to move forward after a heavy tragedy.”