ORLANDO, Fla. — Ten years after 49 people died at Pulse, people connected to Orlando’s LGBTQ community say the city has changed in ways that include new organizations, renewed support and continued fear and hurt.
Michael Vacirca, who worked for The Center in 2016 and is now a co-owner of Anthem in downtown Orlando, said Pulse remains a word tied to loss for many people.
“Those are people that are missing, they are people that are missing from our community,” Vacirca said.
Vacirca said many people stepped up to help after Pulse. He described that support as “like stepping into a warm bath.”
“I think it has made us connect with the rest of society in a new way, where people understand they need to listen,” Vacirca said.
But he said the past decade has also brought challenges.
“I think people are more scared today to talk,” Vacirca said.
Spectrum News/Sarah Winkelmann
Last year, Vacirca and his husband, Emmanuel Quinones, opened Anthem, an LGBTQ bar in downtown Orlando. Vacirca said safe spaces have changed in the years since Pulse.
“For me, having been raised in this city, I saw years of joy, years of celebration, lot of entertainment value and happiness, and then we started losing all of that after Pulse,” Vacirca said.
Quinones said he has experienced people treating him poorly, but he said he remains focused on his role in the community.
“I have been treated like I am nobody, but at the end of the day, I know what I bring to the table, to my team, to my husband and to my community,” Quinones said.
Sara Grossman, board president of The Dru Project, said there has also been progress. Grossman started the organization in honor of her friend, Dru Leinonen, who died at Pulse.
“I don’t know if it will ever really settle in, how much the city has improved, how much we have improved as people,” Grossman said.
Grossman said The Dru Project has given out almost $300,000 over the last 10 years in scholarships to LGBTQ youth.
The organization also published a gay-straight alliance guide that has been downloaded in 14 countries and 47 states.
“We actually used notes that Dru had on his old computer,” Grossman said.
At the Pulse site, there have also been physical changes.
The sign was taken down and the building was demolished earlier this year, and after 10 years of waiting, there is progress in the design for a permanent memorial to remember the 49 people who died.
Vacirca said he hopes the people who showed support after Pulse continue to seek change.
“It has been 10 years, we haven’t seen a lot of change,” Vacirca said. “I hope that those wonderful people go out and vote for the change that we need.”