SAN DIEGO — The man accused in a series of pellet gun attacks earlier this month in the Hillcrest Neighborhood was arrested last week, but the victims of similar crimes are still dealing with the trauma. A man who was shot in the eye outside Rich’s Nightclub in May says he lost everything because of that shooting. But now the LGBTQ+ community that he has so long advocated for is helping him with a comeback.
For years Eddie Reynoso was a face everyone knew at Rich’s Nightclub, a gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community. But when he was shot in the eye with a pellet in a drive by shooting, Reynoso couldn’t go back to work. He had to quit his job, he lost his home and he said he lost everything he’d worked so hard for.
"I was in a first time home buyer program in January. In April I was talking to brokers, and now I’m living out of my car,” Reynoso said.
When CBS 8 News interviewed Reynoso after some drive by shootings in Hillcrest earlier in September, Reynoso said he had been homeless for about a month. He showed CBS 8 his car packed with his belongings. He has water, blankets and folds down the seats to make a bed.
Long-time LGBTQ+ advocate
Reynoso is a long-time advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. He’s the owner and writer for LGBTQ San Diego County News.
This time last year, Reynoso went to the International LGBTQ Human Rights Conference in Malta where he was invited to give a speech and deliver a long lost rainbow flag handmade by political activist, designer and flag-maker Gilbert Baker to a contingent from Ukraine. But after he was shot, his life drastically changed.
“I went back to work at Rich’s and I quickly realized that I was just not able to go back," Reynoso said. "I've lost my home, I've lost friends, my credit score. I’m having to cash out my 401K and get penalized for it just to survive."
But he connected with San Diego’s LGBTQ Community Center Crisis team.
“Just this year alone that have come through our doors and said I've experienced some sort of hate crime. most of them have been LGBTQ related and so our staff member have been able to help those 50 folks,” said the center’s Community Programs Director Oscar Humberto-Gomez.
He said the center helps people like Reynoso and can provide an entire safety net of services. They help anyone, and they focus on the LGBTQ+ community.
“There’s so much that can be done,” Humberto-Gomez said.
Reynoso is now able to stay at a friend’s house until temporary housing through the center is ready. He said the center is helping him get six weeks of housing.
“The San Diego Gay and Lesbian Center, they've been life saving for me. Not just in terms of housing but also in terms of therapy and support," Reynoso said.
So now, after Eddie has tried to do so much for his LGBTQ+ community, he is receiving help, too.
“I want to come back stronger, and I want to come back as a resource for other people," Reynoso said.
Reynoso’s friends created a GoFundMe to help him.
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