Clark County to build database to aid Las Vegas shooting victims
Clark County expects to create a database of everyone who attended, worked at and responded to the Route 91 Harvest music festival by early January, Assistant County Manager Kevin Schiller said.
The database and a corresponding case management system will be used to ensure everyone affected by the Oct. 1 mass shooting, which left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured, is offered victim services, Schiller said.
“We’ll essentially be calling and emailing every single person we have on the list and be coordinating resources,” he said. “Our number one goal is to do outreach to every single individual that attended or was impacted by the tragedy, and we know that number is in excess of about 24,000 people right now.”
The county is working to find long-term staff for the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. The centralized hub providing victim services at 1524 Pinto Lane is expected be open until at least November 2020.
Las Vegas Victims Fund Committee Chairman Scott Nielson said it would be a boon to the thousands of people emotionally traumatized by the shooting if they could seek services through the Resiliency Center.
“You can’t provide financial support or financial payment to all those people,” he said. “so what we’re looking to do is try to help them access services that will help them with these emotional issues.”
Schiller said the county is working with the state to obtain a U.S. Department of Justice grant to pay for the Resiliency Center, staffing and other costs including medical treatment, funeral expenses and victim advocacy.
Schiller said Boston received about $9 million in grant money after the marathon bombings there in April 2013, and the county expects to receive more. However, such a grant probably wouldn’t be awarded for another 18 months to two years. Until then, county and state money will finance the efforts.
Schiller said it’s paramountly important for victims to apply online to the Nevada Victims of Crime Program before Oct. 1, 2018, so they can access all services available.
“People don’t realize they need help and it could be two years from now that they start struggling,” Schiller said.
Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.