The Halton Children’s Aid Society (Halton CAS) is devastated and dismayed by Saturday night’s deadly attack at Club Q, a 2SLGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
With this tragic incident, we are again reminded how discrimination, hate, racism and violence against 2LSGBTQ+ people continue to be a tragic reality that we must contend with every day.
Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community deserve to live without fear of hatred, violence and racism. We all must work to protect our communities from hate crimes and all other forms of hate.
Halton CAS extends our deepest condolences to everyone impacted by this tragedy including our 2SLGBTQ+ staff and the 2SLGBTQ+ community. These events are deeply painful and emotional for all, but especially for our 2SLGBTQ+ colleagues, children, youth and families.
Staff have reached out to all 2SLGBTQ+ youth with whom we are working to check in and see how they are doing. Knowing youth often see comments on social media related to the news, it can be very traumatizing. Just as any good parent or family member would do, we want to ensure our youth know we embrace them in who they are.
Halton CAS condemns hate crimes, violence and racism in all its forms. We must continue to work together towards building safety, inclusion and belonging. These are the building blocks that enable staff, children, youth, families and the communities we serve to contribute and thrive. We must all do better.