(COLORADO SPRINGS) — More than a year has passed since the Club Q shooting devastated this community, yet survivors claim they’re still battling for the compensation promised by the club’s owner. In pursuit of accountability, victims are now calling on donors to request their money back from GoFundMe, but one Club Q bartender and survivor is backing the owner and is claiming these are false accusations.
During the recent one-year remembrance ceremony held by Club Q, meant to honor the victims and their families, Club Q’s owner, Matthew Haynes, presented a united front, honoring those who died, the heroes of the day, and pride in the way the city responded. However, survivors contend this presentation sharply contrasts with the reality of the situation.
Following the November 2022 shooting, Haynes initiated an official GoFundMe campaign, “Ensuring Club Q staff and entertainers do not suffer financial hardship due to this horrific act.”
Hysteria Brooks, a former performer at Club Q, recalled a dinner with victims and survivors shortly after the shooting, and the promises she says were made by the owners.
“The owners of Club Q… swore up and down that he was going to make sure that all of our bills were going to be paid and that we were going to be taken care of during this time. And we all believed him,” said Brooks.
Brooks says she was not at Club Q the night of the shooting but showed up at the scene 25 minutes later. She says she considers herself a victim of this tragedy, because of how close she was to the club and the people who worked there.
Screenshot of Club Q GoFundMe, November 2022, Courtesy: Hysteria Brooks
Screenshot of Club Q GoFundMe, November 2022, Courtesy: Hysteria Brooks
One year later, survivors say they have not received the compensation they say they were promised. The fundraiser that is still up to this day has amassed over $71,000, with individual donations soaring as high as $4,000. Yet, Brooks says victims have received substantially less than those donations, knowing some who have only received $300-$500.
In response, Haynes stated these allegations were completely false, and released the following statement to FOX21:
These allegations are completely false. Club Q has never directly collected one penny for Victims, Families, or survivors. Our official fundraiser for victims was the Colorado Healing Fund. All local and national archival footage and press releases from Club Q directly encouraged people to donate to the healing fund. Through that fund, we raised 3.2 million of which all has been distributed in addition to 1 million from the Compassion fund which was also raising money. The ONLY funds Club Q has collected were for employees which were distributed based on 3 months’ average salary, the memorial, and the reopening of the Club. After the employee payout, we rededicated the remaining funds to just the permanent memorial. 100% of donated money has only been spent on those two things.
Club Q owner, Matthew Haynes
Ashtin Gamblin, a Club Q survivor who was shot nine times that night, says she has been in close contact with the five victims’ families, and says, “There was another family who was paying for funeral expenses months after, and they still might be because they were not getting any help.”
Gamblin, argues if the intention was not to give money to employees, individuals should not have donated to the Club Q GoFundMe in the first place.
“You are not hurting survivors by asking for your money back from that GoFundMe because we didn’t see it anyway,” said Gamblin.
In another lengthy statement, sent in by a former Club Q bartender, and survivor of the shooting, Michael Anderson, backed the owner, contending that the financial support he received is more than what he would have earned in a year working for Club Q, and that other former employees would agree.
“In February, that GoFundMe sat at around $50,000. At that time, three months after the shooting, he [the owner] distributed three months of lost wages,” Anderson said in the statement. “This money has been distributed in addition to the $4 Million dollars that has been distributed by the Colorado Healing Fund and the Compassion Fund… For any person to point to this GoFundMe and say they have not received adequate assistance within the past year is deliberately sharing falsehoods, ” he added.
In a follow-up statement from, Haynes he clarified that “Full-time employees received thousands. A performer who performed once in 3 months paid hundreds.”
Haynes says the rest of the funds were allocated toward a permanent tribute. The GoFundMe description has been altered to reflect these intentions.
More accusations have been levied against Haynes, saying he makes decisions based on profit rather than the community’s needs. Criticism and discomfort from survivors arose when Club Q began selling merchandise, such as t-shirts, fans, shot glasses, and pint glasses. Despite their requests against selling the Club Q merch, they say the owner persisted in doing so.
Disturbed by the thought of people raising a glass to the tragedy they experienced, among other reasons, many survivors didn’t show up to the one-year remembrance ceremony organized by Haynes.
“I didn’t see him do anything that showed that he was a part of this community other than stand behind a podium, smile at government officials, and tell them that they still needed money,” said Brooks.
Currently, the Club Q online store no longer sells drinkware. At the top of the Club Q shop website, it clearly states, “All proceeds go towards the design and construction of a permanent tribute and returning Club Q to the community.”
Later in the afternoon, after the speeches from Haynes, and local and state leaders concluded, on the one year, many of them showed up on the one-year for a ceremony of their own. “And for me, the people that were there during that, that was community,” said Brooks.
Gamblin says she and other survivors are still dealing with the trauma of the shooting and do not feel compensated. She says she is exhausted from speaking out about this but is afraid if she stops, the world will forget about her and the other survivors.
“The community needs to be asking questions to Club Q and the owners… and start demanding accountability for what’s happened,” said Gamblin.
The full unedited statement from Michael Anderson sent to FOX21:
Matthew Haynes was suddenly thrust into a horrific situation as the owner of the club that any business owner would fear. Knowing the future of Club Q was uncertain, he wanted to ensure his staff and contractors would not suffer a loss of wages. He also had hundreds of voices around this country imploring him not to let Club Q go away. Thus, he decided to start a GoFundMe fundraiser to serve three primary purposes: to supplement staff and contractors’ lost wages, to help rebuild Club Q, and to build a permanent memorial and tribute to the fallen victims of the shooting. In February, that GoFundMe sat at around $50,000. At that time, three months after the shooting, he distributed three months of lost wages. What each employee and contractor received from this distribution was based on an average monthly sum of their earned wages. What each employee was distributed was individual to the pay they had been receiving. This money has been distributed in addition to the $4 million dollars that has been distributed by the Colorado Healing Fund and the Compassion Fund. For any person to point to this GoFundMe and say they have not received adequate assistance within the past year is deliberately sharing falsehoods. And for people to continue demonizing Matthew with character assassination is just incredibly off-base and uncalled for. As a bartender for Club Q that survived the attack, the amount of financial support I personally received this year from all sources, including the GoFundMe, following the shooting, is more than what I would have earned in a year working for Club Q. The other employees and contractors who directly survived the attack are in that same boat. It is incredibly frustrating to continue rehashing this when the claims are continually baseless and based on falsehoods, with an intention to divide this community further.
