Thousands of LGBTQ+ revelers and supporters lined the streets of downtown Colorado Springs for the annual Pride Parade on Sunday. Unity has long been one of the prevailing theme’s of the Pikes Peak Pride Festival’s culminating event — perhaps the only place where church members can be seen marching behind a dozen or so Satanists, with zero confrontations between the two groups. But among the bubbles, rainbows and Technicolor hairdos lining Tejon Street on Sunday afternoon, several groups were making an effort to address some serious issues facing the queer community.
It’s been about 19 months since an armed attacker opened fire inside Club Q, killing five people, wounding more than a dozen others and imbuing many the city’s queer citizens with the feeling that they were under siege. Emotions remain raw for many within the LGBTQ+ community, even those who were not present at the club the night of the attack. That’s one of the reasons the Prism Community Collective recently opened its doors, officials said.
The recently-opened resource center was one of more than 100 groups occupying tents and booths at the Pioneers Museum’s Alamo Square Park. “We’re a resource center for people still feeling the impact of the Club Q tragedy, including but not limited to the LGBTQ+ community,” said program and outreach manager John Arcediano. “There are still a lot of people hurting from the attack, and we want to be here for them.
” Support for the Pikes Peak region’s .
