(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Prism Community Collective reached a one-year milestone on Saturday. The organization was created after the 2022 Club Q shooting, and since then, it’s been working hand-in-hand with survivors, victims’ families, and the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs.

The organization spent the anniversary celebrating with community members with vendors, poetry, and drag performances. Since it opened, the center has continued to be a safe and welcoming space, offering healing, support, and a sense of belonging for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“The future is unlimited for us, said John Arcedina, Program Outreach with Prism Community Collective.

The community resource was born out of the Club Q tragedy, a year after the Club Q shooting in November 2022, leaving five people dead and twenty-five others injured. Prism Community Collective continues to touch more than one thousand lives.

“I hate that such a tragedy really put a fire under people to pull together the resources and make it happen, but I love that it finally has,” Stephanie Vigil, former state representative in Colorado Springs.

“I am very proud of the work we’ve done. It has been everything that we have done has been direct feedback from the victims and survivors’ families,” Arcendina.

Since then, it continues to unite the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ community.

“It takes some really brave, awesome people to persevere through that, and the fact that after a year it’s already grown and done so well, I think just really speaks to the team behind it,” said Lane Lemery, a community member in attendance.

The community hub offers everything from mental health support, health resources, and creative programming and gatherings.

“I would say in the past year we went from having absolutely nothing to a full brick and mortar with services in space that include mental health support, peer support groups, community and community connection and engagement,” said Arcendina.

The one-year milestone marked more than just a celebration; it highlights the vibrancy and strength of the community.

“So, seeing us in different places and spaces throughout the city as really kind of just representative and realizing that we’re not confined to our four walls, but we are everywhere you need us to be,” said Arcendina.

It’s all in memory of the tragic shooting, now it’s the heartbeat of a resource making a change for the better.

“Thank you, guys, for not forgetting us,” said Lemery.

In the next year, organizers hope to expand their programming, create new community events, and make a difference one person at a time.