ORLANDO, Fla. — A Hispanic Pulse shooting survivor is now using the tragedy to help others.

Living in Central Florida now after moving from Puerto Rico, Ricardo Negron is fighting for the rights of both communities he is a part of.

Here’s what you need to know about Negon’s story:

Coming out

Negron was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He came out to his family and friends as a gay man when he was 22.

He jokingly said they were not surprised and accept him as who he is.

“I’m not sure why (it) took me so long to come out, because I knew my friends would be accepting, and I knew my family would be accepting,” Negron said.

History at Pulse Nightclub

He moved to Orlando in 2015 after he visited the city for many years.

The first gay club he attended while stateside was Pulse Nightclub. He frequented the nightclub every Saturday on Latin night. He went to the club alone that night and was ready to pay his tab when he heard the shots.

“I thought it was maybe the music or something skipping but then the shots kept going,” Negron said.

Surviving the shooting

He hid on the floor and saw several people make their way out the backdoor. He ran with them after he heard a pause in the shooting.

Once out, he hitched a ride in a stranger’s car along with two people he never met. He then texted his parents and posted on Facebook to let everyone know he was home safe.

Coping

Negron began to teach English to Spanish speakers at an immigrant nonprofit to distract his mind.

“(I thought) teaching English in Apopka to adults who don’t go out clubbing as far as I know maybe that’s a place where I won’t be bombarded with the subject,” Negron said.

After he heard some of his students talk about the shooting, he realized it impacted more people than he thought.

He realized there were only two options: Go back to Puerto Rico, where he felt safe, or help others with his experiences.

“I tried to use my stories, my experiences, to help create spaces for the community where we can come together, where we can have access to resources, where we can educate other folks,” Negron said.

Helping others

He began to work for a nonprofit to help advocate for survivors and their family’s impacted by the shooting. He then created his own nonprofit, Del Ambiente, that does the same.

The name of the nonprofit refers to a term used in Puerto Rico to identify those in the LGBTQ community.

He also volunteers at Latino Justice PRLDEF as a legal assistant.

Through the two nonprofits he now provides safe spaces for members of the LGBTQ and the Hispanic community, provides English courses, and helps them register to vote.