Orlando lawmakers seek funds to help Pulse shooting survivors
Two House Democrats want the Legislature to set aside nearly $600,000 to keep open the doors of a center that helps survivors of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Rep. Anna Eskamani, both from Orlando, filed the budget request (HB 9095) this week for the Heart of Florida United Way’s resiliency center for Pulse survivors and family members.
The center opened in the aftermath of the June 2016 shooting, which left 49 people dead and 53 wounded. The program was initially funded by a three-year, $8.5 million federal anti-terrorism grant, but the funding will expire this year.
“More than three years after the attack on Pulse nightclub, critical resources that helped stabilize the lives of survivors and families directly impacted have all but dried up,” Smith said in a statement. If funding does not come from “somewhere,” the center will close in 2020, Smith told The News Service of Florida.
Read more: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/12/13/orlando-lawmakers-seek-funds-to-help-pulse-shooting-survivors
