State aid program can help those affected by Las Vegas shooting
Officials are encouraging people who attended the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1 to apply for assistance from a program for crime victims.
The Nevada State Crime Victim Compensation Program reimburses people for out-of-pocket costs that resulted from a crime. The money covers unexpected costs — such as funeral expenses, medical bills and mental health counseling — that are not covered by insurance.
Route 91 concertgoers, regardless of where they are from and whether they were injured, are being encouraged to apply for assistance from the program. The application deadline is Oct. 1, 2018.
Families of people killed in the attack are also eligible to apply.
By Tuesday afternoon, the program had received 2,381 applications regarding the Oct. 1 massacre, program manager Rebecca Salazar said in an email to the Review-Journal. The fund has about $13 million.
The state has not received any additional funding to the program since the shooting, but officials are pursuing emergency federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice, Salazar said.
Staff from the state program are available at the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center, 1524 Pinto Lane, to help people apply for assistance. The center is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.
