The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) received a grant for more than $8.3 million from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP). The funding will assist victims and family members of the attack that occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.
Among the approximately 24,000 ticket holders, sixty-five percent were California residents. More than six-hundred were injured in the attack. Thirty-five of the 58 killed were from California.
As soon as the attack occurred, CalVCB began working with the Nevada Victims of Crime Program and the federal Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to address the immediate and long-term needs of the victims. To date, CalVCB has received nearly 3,500 applications for assistance and paid out over $4.5 million in benefits for mental health treatment, income loss, burial costs and other crime-related expenses.
A portion of the funds awarded through this federal grant will reimburse CalVCB for benefits already paid to Route 91 victims and benefits that will be paid to survivors in the future. In addition, the award will fund support groups for survivors throughout California as well as anniversary and memorial events.
“This tragic event affected so many people from both California and Nevada. From the beginning we’ve worked hand-in-hand with Nevada officials, and with our state, county and community partners to provide assistance to survivors,” said CalVCB Executive Officer Julie Nauman. “We encourage survivors and their family members who are struggling to recover to contact us.”
Help is available for survivors of those who were killed, anyone who was injured and anyone in attendance at the concert as well as their immediate family members.
Californians have until October 1, 2020 to apply. CalVCB can help pay for funeral expenses, medical bills, mental health treatment, income loss and more. Applications are available on CalVCB’s website at https://victims.ca.gov/lasvegas/