Tennesseans who attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival last year in Las Vegas, Nevada, may be eligible for expenses related to the Oct. 1, 2017 tragedy. The Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP) is reaching out to citizens to find Tennesseans who may have attended the concert to advise them of assistance that may be available. Tennessee has been notified that 40 tickets were sold in the state, but more Tennesseans were there as musicians or other roles.
Nevada's Crime Victim Compensation program may be able to offer financial assistance to any Tennessee citizens who were there, including medical bills, funeral expenses, mental health treatment or lost wages.
In fact, you may apply for help whether or not you were physically injured in the attack. You do not have to be a resident of Nevada to apply.
“Even if you have no expenses today, we encourage you to apply now in case you incur expenses in the future” OCJP Director Bill Scollon said. “We know there were Tennesseans in attendance at the festival, and hope the public and local agencies can help us get the word out.”
Tennesseans who attended the festival should go to the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center website at https://vegasstrongrc.org/. Once an intake form is completed, one will be directed to the Nevada Crime Victim Compensation link.
The OCJP, part of the Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration, functions as a strategic planning agency that secures, distributes, and manages federal and state funds for Tennessee, including Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds and STOP Violence Against Women Program (STOP) funds. OCJP uses a structured process to look three to five years ahead of daily grant management activities at the changing needs of Tennessee’s justice system and the needs of its victims of violent crime. To address crime and victimization in Tennessee, OCJP manages a systematic, year-round cycle for determining the communities’ needs, identifying the justice system’s problems, setting program priorities, making grant allocation decisions, managing those funded projects, and evaluating the results of those decisions.