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.
