Social justice legal center demands Colorado Healing Fund release remaining funds to Club Q survivors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Tuesday morning, a Denver-based social justice legal center is holding a press conference to call on the Colorado Healing Fund to release the remaining funds for Club Q survivors.
Bread & Roses claim the Colorado Healing Fund hasn't provided formal accounting or reporting disclosing the amount of money raised or the amount of money fronted by the Gill Foundation to cover administrative costs.
According to the center's website, Bread & Roses is a "social justice legal center" that aims to "disrupt the harms the legal system inflicts" on the LGBTQ+ community.
“We have had to fight and beg for this money. We should be resting, grieving, and recovering,” claimed Ashtin Gamblin, who worked the front door of the club and was shot 9 times, in a press release. “The money was donated to us. It should be given to us.”
The press conference is set to be held at 11 a.m. at Colorado Springs City Hall Some survivors, victims' families, and those impacted by other mass shootings are expected to speak.
KRDO reached out to the Colorado Healing Fund for comment on these accusations. Below is a statement released by the CHF:
We see a similar press conference about every six months. They think we should distribute all the funds we collect as soon as we receive them, but we are forthright and clear with donors that the funds we collect will be used to address the short-term, intermediate, and long-term needs of victims. The long-term component is very important because we are still five months away from the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, and experts tell us to expect additional trauma to surface then.
Colorado Healing Fund
Jordan Finegan, the executive director for the CHF, told KRDO 100% of the money received for Club Q victims will go to the victims.
According to Finegan, the CHF received approximately $3 million. So far, $2.075 million has been distributed. The most recent cash distribution was $1.3 million in February.
Finegan said the CHF has continued to disperse money through partners to support immediate needs, with 99% of all requests for immediate support being met and approved. She said through CHF's partners, any recent requests that are connected to Club Q haven't been denied. Additionally, every Club Q victim family and survivor who's come forward so far has reportedly received support from CHF.
CHF has partnered with the Community Health Partnership (CHP), the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA), and a Club Q Advisory Committee that is composed of LGBTQIA+ leaders, victim assistance experts, and community partners to help determine when and how distributions should be made.
Finegan reiterated that the money from donors is used to address the short-term, intermediate, and long-term needs of victims. She said CHF's model is recommended by trauma experts because it's common for victims to demonstrate additional impact in the months and years following an incident. It's been seven months since the November 2022 attack.
According to Finegan, the model was created by more than 20 of Colorado's leading experts in the area of incident response, experts who've evaluated responses ranging from the September 11, 2001 attacks to the Virginia Tech shootings.
According to the Bread & Roses website, the center is also raising money for Club Q survivors. The website states the "mutual aid fund is private and based on trusting the autonomy of survivors to define their own needs." The center reportedly provides unrestricted support in cash, gift cards, and fulfilling survivor requests. The center reports it's raised $39,845 through gift cards and cash since December 2022 and has distributed $35,945.48 so far.
