Outpouring of local support after Orlando gay nightclub shooting, says vigil organizer

Amidst updates from friends and family about their lives and funny videos, Amy Ellard-Gray was shocked to see news of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida fill her Facebook newsfeed on Sunday.

"When you're scrolling through Facebook to find out the news of the world, you never expect something so horrific and dark to come across your path," said Ellard-Gray, the chair of the Guelph resource centre Out on the Shelf.

"It was quite a shock. I had trouble believing that this was something that actually happened," she said. "[It] hit me to the core as a lesbian person myself, and being so close to Toronto Pride and already starting some of the Pride festivities, it was also frightening to think this happened so close to us, it could have happened here."

People offering help

Ellard-Gray is among the volunteers planning a vigil in Guelph Thursday evening.

People can start gathering at Market Square outside Guelph city hall at 8 p.m., and there will be speakers at 8:30 p.m. Once it gets dark, candles will be distributed and lit.

Ellard-Gray said though she hasn't received many calls from people seeking support, "what I've been getting instead is so many people reaching out offering to help, which I think is really beautiful." 

She said people have called to offer to drive others to the vigil, volunteer their time to prepare for the event and even donate candles.

Waterloo vigil Thursday

A vigil will also be held in Waterloo Thursday evening.

It will begin at 9 p.m. at Waterloo Public Square and local leaders will speak before the group takes part in a candlelit walk to Princess Street around 10:30 p.m.

Local businesses will be open, including The Order, which is an LGBTQ-plus friendly nightclub in Waterloo where co-owner Rami Said said they will hold an open mic session.

"It hits really close to home for us being a club and it happening at a nightclub. Had this been in this kind of region, it could have very well have been us," he said.

"We tend to find it to be a very safe place," he added. "That's where everybody was when they were in Orlando, they were at a place that they thought was basically like their home."

There was also a vigil held Tuesday night in front of Kitchener City Hall.

Security concerns

Said has received a few emails from people who frequent his club over the past few days asking about increased security measures at The Order. 

"A lot of people are concerned about security. Even being in Canada, they're still saying, 'Is there going to be something to protect us from knives or weapons or anything happening?' 

"We're sticking with the format that we're working with Waterloo Regional Police, it's a very good uptown core where all the businesses work together, there's great communication in Waterloo between everybody involved in the nighttime sectors," he said.

He said management wants to avoid making uptown Waterloo a police-heavy zone, but adds staff and security will be more vigilant.