Surprised. Blessed. Overwhelmed.
Already gone. Those were reactions from some of the 20 gunshot victims from the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shootings who were awarded $1.2 million from the #KCStrong fund on Thursday, with individuals receiving payments ranging from $22,000 to $100,000.
Chris Rosson, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Kansas City, said the payouts will help these survivors even while recognizing that gun violence like the Feb. 14 shootings happens in Kansas City every day, typically in low-income communities that are already under-resourced. This story also ran on .
It can be . “When launching the fund, it was important for us to support first and foremost direct victims of the violence of that day, but also to drive critical financial resources to violence prevention and response organizations, to mental health supports, into first responders,” he said. The shootings at the end of the rally near Union Station left 24 people injured and one dead.
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, 43, a mother of two and a popular Tejano DJ, was killed. Since the shootings, have incurred thousands of dollars in medical bills for emergency room treatment, ambulance rides, ongoing medical care for bullet wounds, or mental health counseling. Some are still struggling to return to work and are relying on a confusing patchwork of assistance from GoFundMe accounts and a group of local churches.
Erika Nelson, whose 15-year-old daughter, Mireya, was shot at the parade, said .
