Stars of Hope brings healing to Colorado Springs following Club Q mass shooting

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Across Downtown Colorado Springs there's a growing number of stars being displayed inside businesses and restaurants.

The group, Stars of Hope, believes in healing through art and brings the stars to communities that have suffered a tragedy or natural disaster. Their message is that together we heal and there is power in social connection.

"The stars are created by people from around the country, survivors of different tragedies, just showing support for Colorado Springs and the families and survivors of the Club Q shootings," said Josh Garcia, the executive director for Stars of Hope.

Garcia was a manager at Pulse Nightclub in 2016 when a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others.

"The biggest thing we always hear is that we feel alone, we feel forgotten, so the stars just remind people that they’re not alone, not forgotten and that people are out there still thinking of them," said Garcia.

Six hundred stars are in Colorado Springs so far, that includes at Poor Richard's.

"We have a lot of LGBTQ+ employees and customers and for us, it helped us mourn, many of us were grieving," said Richard Skorman the owner of Poor Richard's

Skorman says that the grieving process continues for people today.

"This will be with us for a long long time nothing like this has happened before in Colorado Springs and we need to make sure that we don’t forget it," said Skorman.

To learn more about Stars of Hope, click here.