Care in the Aftermath of the Club Q Massacre

by Meg Baatz (she/her), Co-Founder & CEO of Kaleidoscope

Over the weekend, a young person entered Club Q, a queer nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and opened fire, killing 5 people, injuring 25 others, and traumatizing and re-traumatizing countless people in the Colorado Springs community and the LGBTQ+ community at large.

Unfortunately, anti-LGBTQ+ violence is nothing new to our community. We never want to act as though violence like this is “normal,” or ought to be expected or accepted. And still, we find ourselves in a country where male perpetrators inflict violence on our community. And our lives and communities continue forward into the next day.

In these times – whether we are LGBTQ+ or allies, Christ-followers or not – we need each other. We need to tangibly feel from one another that violence is not God's heart toward LGBTQ+ image-bearers, that Jesus wails with us any time a person makes a decision for violence.

How to Help Those Affected by the Club Q Shooting

If you're a non-LGBTQ+ person, as most of our readers are, here are three ways you can respond right now.

1. Reach out to your LGBTQ+ loved ones today: family, current and former church attendees, and current and past colleagues. You may say, "As I've been processing the tragedy this weekend, you came to mind. No need to reply, but if there are specific ways I can pray for or support you, like sending you a meal, know that I'm available for you."

2. Love us by knowing our historic traumas around violence. Especially if you're feeling removed from the tragedy, we invite you to set aside some time to study the history of anti-LGBTQ violence in your nation, and to commit to bearing the burden of this traumatic history alongside us.

3. Publicly denounce anti-LGBTQ violence. Share a reflection in your own words on social media condemning anti-LGBTQ violence. You may use another post as a reference, or ask an LGBTQ+ friend to review it, but don't simply copy and paste. As a straight/cis person, you might think that your voice doesn’t belong here. But the reality is that your voice IS important! Only straight/cis people can model allyship. We can’t do this without you! We all have a responsibility to actively demonstrate that we want our LGBTQ+ loved ones around, and that their lives are worthy of protecting.

Remember: It is better to engage imperfectly than not to engage at all.

Care tips for LGBTQ+ People After the Club Q Shooting

If you are hurting today, we encourage you consider the following 8 practices recommended by the APA:

1. Talk about it with someone who is a good listener.

2. Strive for balance in acknowledging the presence of both sorrow and hope.

3. Turn it off and take a break from the news cycle and electronics.

4. Honor your feelings: it's normal if you feel exhausted, achy, or foggy. 

5. Take care of yourself: Eat healthfully, get exercise, get plenty of rest, and practice sustainable rhythms. Avoid alcohol and drugs, which may suppress or intensify emotions.

6. Help others or do something productive: Donate to this GoFundMe organized by Faith Haug, a queer community leader and small business owner in Colorado.

7. Remember that grief is a long process: Your emotions in grief aren't "your fault;" they're a natural consequence of another person's hurtful actions. Show self-compassion.

8. Get professional help: You might set an extra appointment with your counselor this week, or to take that leap to contacting a therapist today. It's okay to set up an initial discovery call to "vet" a therapist and see if they are equipped to help you given your faith, gender, sexual, and ethnic identities.