Money poured into a fund for victims of the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
The hard part is deciding who gets the money.
The Las Vegas Victims Fund committee was established to figure that out. Last week, the committee held public meetings to outline draft protocols. And hundreds showed up to talk about it.
Some weren’t happy about the protocols, which essentially provide money to families of those who were killed, 58 in all, and those who spent a night in the hospital.
Arguments were made for those who were treated on an out-patient basis, for those suffering emotional trauma and to compensate those who lost pay because they had to miss work after the shooting.
"Many others, myself included are struggling with physical injuries, going back to work, and adjusting to this trauma," one woman who was working at the concert told the committee.
"I propose that Nevada residents who worked this event, also be included in this distribution. I also propose this protocol should include those victims who were physically injured as an outpatient basis and continue to struggle with physical injury and therapy. Those who reside in Las Vegas have dedicated their time and work to be part of what makes Vegas strong.”
Police have reported that beyond those killed, 500 people were injured, which is much more than other similar events. In addition to those physically injured, there were the 22,000 concert attendees and hundreds more working at the event.
Jeff Dion, deputy director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, said the sheer number of people at the event creates a problem.
"Everyone that applies for benefits is going to have to go through two validation steps," he said, "The first is everyone who applies needs to be validated by the FBI that they were a victim of this event. We have an obligation to all the people around the world that donated money to be sure that people who are getting money are victims of October 1. We also have an obligation to everyone who was impacted by October 1 that only you are getting money from this fund.”
It is not just the number of people impacted that is a problem but also the amount of money raised for the victim's fund, Dion said.
He ended his comments in one of two town hall meetings about the matter noting that over three funds, about $14 million has been donated.
Compare that to the amount donated after the Pulse Nightclub killing of 49 people in June 2016 where $29 million was raised, which meant families of the dead received $350,000 each. And those who were injured or just at the nightclub—more than 200 people total—were also given money.
The outline for distributing the funds is still in a draft form. The hearings last week were to give committee members more information in case they want to change the formula.
Scott Nielson, chairman of the committee, told KNPR's State of Nevada they wanted to hear what people went through that night and what people thought about the plan to distribute the money.
However, he was clear that while everyone impacted by the shooting whether he or she was at the festival grounds that night or not is a victim, but there isn't an endless amount of money in the victims' fund.
"There is a limited amount of money to be distributed as a gift and that's what we're doing," Nielson said, "We've collected these funds. We're pulling it all together and then we're going to distribute it to people that were most significantly impacted."
Deacon Tom Roberts is a committee member and the head of Catholic Charities.
He said that is why the committee submitted a draft proposal so that people could give them feedback about it.
He said the two comments they heard the most during the hearing were concerns about people who were hurt but did not have an overnight stay in the hospital and those who weren't physically injured but were mentally traumatized.
"The committee is under a balance to try to find the best way to touch as many people as we can with whatever we have been given as gifts and at the same time to make those gifts as meaningful as possible," he said.
Both Nielson and Roberts said people who may not qualify for the money from the victims' fund can reach out to others for help either by talking to friends or family or by seeking help through another organization.
Nielson also said the victims' fund is still taking donations and the more money that is donated the more people they can help.
Resources:
Donate to Victims of Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting
Las Vegas Victims' Fund Go Fund Me
Scott Nielson, chairman, Las Vegas Victims Fund committee; Deacon Tom Roberts, committee member
