Representatives Laura Hoydick (R-120) and Larry Miller (R-122) voted yesterday to establish a privately funded pool of funds to benefit the Newtown Police, teachers, and emergency workers who have been affected by psychological trauma since the December shooting.
The Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Fund will cover mental health issues through private donations. The bill had a special provision in it covering families of those administrators killed at Sandy Hook, assuring they will receive proper support.
“There is little in our power to do or say to provide relief for the families of Sandy Hook who lost loved ones, or for the first responders who came upon a scene no one should ever have to answer the call for,” said Rep. Miller. “However this bill allows us to do some important things for them, however small. Decency dictates that we must offer this support to those who have been directly traumatized by this event, and that we take steps to help the families receive the full benefits they should be entitled to.”
“It is impossible for us to imagine what first responders at Sandy Hook endured, just as it is impossible to comprehend what the families of the victims of Sandy Hook live with,” said Rep. Hoydick. “It is our hope that the creation of this fund to assist Sandy Hook responders, and the changes made for benefits of survivors of Sandy Hook will at least relieve some of the concerns these folks have going forward.”
The United Way of Western Connecticut is handling the processing of the donations. The fund will be administered by the state's Office of Victims Services, with the State Treasurer managing its assets.
