The Route 91 Strong group, made up of survivors of the 1 October shooting, began issuing checks to help fellow survivors.
They say some were frustrated that the $22 million Las Vegas victims fund wasn't moving quickly enough.
"We expedited it because we knew that the survivors needed help now and that we couldn't wait," says Lisa Fine.
One of the first survivors helped by Fine's group is Kimberly Baker.
Baker was a bartender at the festival and says in the 5 months since, she's suffered PTSD and it has caused her to miss work, lose jobs, and fall behind on rent.
Just as she thought things were getting out of control, Route 91 Strong was able to help. "I'm thinking how am I going to pay my bills and they just swooped in like little angels," she says.
The Las Vegas Victims Fund itself is primarily geared more towards families of victims killed in the shooting, and those injured physically.
Those checks may also soon be on the way. The Las Vegas Victims Fund says they're hoping to have their plan finalized this week, telling 13 Action News in a statement:
“We are not providing a total for the amount raised until after the end of the month when our fundraising efforts have concluded and all contributions have been deposited in the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund bank account. The LVVF Committee made the decision to not release an estimated dollar amount because it would be a disservice to the families and survivors of 1 October if the number were inaccurate. The money will be distributed pursuant to the Protocol published on the LVVF website and pursuant to an allocation to be determined by the LVVF Committee once all applications for funds have been processed and the total amount of contributions is known. The LVVF has not yet distributed any of the funds, but still anticipates starting distributions in early March, as outlined in the Estimated Timeline contained in the Protocol.”
