DENVER – For the third time this year, the Colorado Healing Fund was activated in response to a mass shooting that left five people dead in Denver and Lakewood on Monday.
“It's been really heartbreaking… I would have never expected this. We're almost at the end of the year,” Colorado Healing Fund Executive Director Jordan Finegan said. “I am really sad for our community and sad that this has happened and also thankful that we're here, that the Colorado Healing Fund exists, that we are able to jump and begin helping right away.”
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The fund helps pay for victim’s families immediate needs.
Finegan said almost no one expects to lose a loved one to a mass shooting and with unexpected loss comes unexpected expenses.
“There’s travel needs for family coming in for the memorial services, funeral costs — sometimes there's different funds that help cover that — but typically it doesn't cover the entirety,” Finegan said. “We open ourselves up for collections to come in securely through our website and we ensure that those donations will be dispersed both to help with the immediate, but then also the long term needs.”
Finegan said donations are already flowing in for this latest tragedy, but more help is needed.
“It was a large, sweeping impact to both the Denver and Lakewood community. There's several individuals who lost their lives but then there are also a lot of people who were impacted who were there, witnessed the crime, and then also were hiding in place,” Finegan said.
To learn more about the Colorado Healing Fund click here.