Thursday, October 1, 2020

CalVCB Help is Still Available for Route 91 Harvest Festival Survivors

 

October 1 marks the third anniversary of the deadly Route 91 Harvest Festival attack in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding 411 others. The panic and chaos to escape to safety that followed this deadly shooting would injure hundreds more. Although the attack lasted for ten minutes, the trauma, grief, fear and recovery continue.

As the tragic accounts of people rushing to safety unfolded, it became apparent that many of the victims were not from Nevada. Seeing this, CalVCB’ s Mass Violence Response team immediately stepped in to aid the Nevada Victims of Crime Program. A joint application process was established within days. Final counts would later show that approximately 65 % of the more than 24,000 festival attendees were from California.

At the time of the mass shooting, the deadline to apply for compensation was three years from the date of the crime. However, as of January 1, 2020, victims of all violent crimes now have seven years from the date of the crime to file. For minors, it is seven years after the direct victim turns 18 to apply. The timeline extension now gives Route 91 Harvest Festival victims until October 1, 2024, to apply for CalVCB compensation.

In addition to compensation, CalVCB recently partnered with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and Give an Hour to offer support services to the survivors and family members of those who died through a program called “SoCal Route 91 Heals Project.” People living in eight counties, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura, will have free access to services focusing on their long-term needs, including web-based support groups, peer support training and an online mass trauma resource library. Regardless of location, all victims are eligible for the recovery services offered.

Victims can apply and learn more about services available to them on our website.

For further assistance, call our CalVCB Customer Service team at 800-777-9229, or email info@victims.ca.gov. We also have answers to some of the basic questions we’ve received in the aftermath of the shooting on our frequently asked questions page for victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival Attack.