FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.
Cortez Masto highlighted the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s Resiliency and Justice Center that has helped survivors and their families access the resources they need
Washington, D.C. – Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke on the Senate floor today ahead of the 7th anniversary of the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, the deadliest in modern American history.
Cortez Masto honored the victims and their families, and she highlighted the work being done at the Resiliency and Justice Center in Las Vegas to connect survivors of violent crime with resources to help them heal.
Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery:
M. President, I rise today along with my colleague from Nevada, Senator Jacky Rosen, to commemorate seven years since the deadliest mass shooting in America’s recent memory.
Seven years ago, people from across the country gathered in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest music festival – three days of live performances, dancing, and fun.
On October 1st, what was supposed to be a joyous conclusion to the festival turned into a nightmare.
In just 10 minutes, from the window of a nearby hotel, a gunman fired more than 1,000 shots into the festival crowd.
58 people were killed, and two more died later from their injuries. More than 800 were wounded. Thousands of families were forever changed.
I remember sitting with some of them at the Reunification Center, hoping and praying that their loved ones would return to them. Some prayers were never answered.
But as the city of Las Vegas mourned, we also came together. Neighbors reached out to one another and helped each other heal. Programs were created to help our city cope and move forward. We were resilient. We are Vegas Strong.
Out of tragedy and suffering, there was hope.
Let me tell you about something that gives me hope.
Three weeks after the events of 1 October, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Clark County set up the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center as a resource for survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival and their families.
After a tragedy like a mass shooting, the families of victims and survivors alike have to adjust to a new normal. Imagine living through the horrors of that October night, healing from injuries, or grieving the loss of a loved one whose life was taken so suddenly by a senseless act of violence.
And then imagine, after you’ve been left with all that trauma, that you’re now faced with the complexities of paying medical bills, or dealing with insurance companies. It’s overwhelming. Where do you even begin? How are you going to navigate it all?
The Vegas Strong Resiliency Center was designed to ensure families didn’t have to go through this process alone.
The Center brought community partners with different resources to the table to deliver anything survivors might need – from support groups to mental health services to financial advice.
I’ve seen some of their great work myself.
Their incredible Executive Director, Tennille [ten-KNEEL] Pereira [puh-RARE-uh], shared the story of a survivor of 1 October who, after recovering from being shot that night, could no longer make her way up the stairs to reach her apartment. In response, her landlord threatened to evict her!
So, she got in touch with the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. The Center contacted her landlord, got them to back down, and then helped their client move to another apartment that was accessible to her.
This is what happens when the community comes together to help each other. The Resiliency Center connected survivors with the resources they needed – right when they needed them. It gave survivors hope, and it helped them find light in the darkness.
In the seven years since its establishment, the Center not only helped survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, but through the lessons learned from that crisis, it actually improved services for victims of violent crime throughout Southern Nevada.
That includes human trafficking survivors, domestic abuse survivors, and even first responders who have post-traumatic stress.
And when Las Vegas was struck by another tragedy last year, after a gunman killed three people at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the staff at the Resiliency Center were able to immediately respond, providing resources and programs for students, families, faculty, and staff.
In January of this year, the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center was renamed the Resiliency and Justice Center, and its mission expanded to serve all survivors of violent crime in Southern Nevada. They are continuing to grow their staff and their resources, and they’re even getting ready to expand their offices.
I’m proud to support the work of the Resiliency and Justice Center. At a time when our city was shaken to its core, they were there to help us get back on our feet. To help us remember that life goes on after loss. To help us find the strength to rebuild as a community.
And now, as we mark seven years since that terrible evening at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, we also mark seven years of hope and resilience in the city of Las Vegas. We hold the victims and their families in our hearts forever, and we remain Vegas Strong.
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